MUST WATCH: Sruly Besser Divrei Hesped on Chatzi Katz A"h

before we begin the panel leadership of links just a few words of tribute of acknowledgement a dear friend anybody who saw the signs knows that the plan was at least hour plan over here was that catch is going to be sharing his n with us tonight musically theam had other plans just a few hours after the L and theur not a lot of time to collect one's thoughts and there's not that much to say but maybe together only as it pertains to what we're gathered for here tonight for this halga organization this halga cause in less than a week we're going to say words that define that tell us the essence that tell us the side of Jewish music of what is called pleasing to one of the high points of view I'm kippo going to say the V has access to the most beautiful Choir in the world most Heavenly Choir in the world over there in the Realms that people can't even imagine how perfect that music is how Divine the harmony is the says the wants something else you know who he wants to hear the song of simple people impoverished people broken people exhausted tired overworked people baguer people that's the song that wants to hear why is that what passes is that fitting for malas is that appropriate for the king why wouldn't he want the song of the Mal the Divine harmonies over there and anybody who knows anything about music understands that the beauty of music is in in the contrast major minors slower slower Rhythm and faster louder softer music that's monotonous has no joy to anybody AAL can provide that only a human being could do that up down better days worse days sometimes like this sometimes like that I was I was a close friend of Ki and a tremendous fan of katti's music not so much because of the music but because of the story that his music told his music told the most human story in the world it was just somebody just a yid trying it's not a secret he lost his mother when he was 15 years old only son 15 years old yam and in his every note that he's saying you heard the pain you heard the Brokenness and you also heard the struggle of somebody who is determined to smile and not only to smile but to allow others to smile to make others smile it was the song that the desires the song ofil I want to read you a few lines if you don't mind of an article that Ki wrote he's describing the the conclusion of the year of aer's mother what it's like to be 16 years old and having to DAV for the somebody who's not used to it who's not so comfortable with it for a year he's describing the long days and the T and having to get out of bed early for the kades and even there was no breaks cuz even though he didn't have to for the there was still everyone St staring at me pityingly while I said kades if I ever went away for shabas or anytime I had to look for an in a strange city and countless pairs of eyes fell on me but I did it all for you Mommy I tried my best although I wasn't perfect and now that year Ki writes to mother is coming to an end it's almost time time for me to stop daving for the and say kades my first thought was pure delight Freedom At Last I'll finally be a normal teenager but now I have mixed feelings right I'll enjoy my freedom but I'll miss the daving you see this whole ordeal gave me a special connection a relationship to you I'm doing something for you you're looking down and smiling at me I feel like you're holding my hand and saying look at my son look what he does for me please do him even the physical and emotional struggles were worth itti continues cuz they kept me thinking about what you did for me each day every time somebody looked at me during kadish that humiliating feeling reminded me of how you would go running around with me wherever I had to go while you were concealing your illness from everybody else every time I had to look for another umud cuz I lost the previous one your end of life struggles and how you ignor them for my sake popped into my mind and every time I fought with myself to get out of bed early in the morning I remembered how you would drag yourself out of bed each morning to lovingly wake me up and send me to yes despite your condition with love that's not an article that a Mal could write that's only an article that a human can write that's the article of it's hard to get out better the morning it's hard to be embarrassed it's hard to be shamed but I want to do that for you the struggle is the greatest tribute to you love you my personal note on my relationship with never shared this with anybody before but if there was ever a time for it I think it's now I had written a book about shabas about welcoming the shabas and those first few moments of chabas cabal shabas Kes and and the promotion for the book was very heavy in describing that feeling the rich the the the joy the spirit that fills the Y heart at home chabas and he called me up and all our conversations were very honest he didn't know another way and he said to me you know it's very presumptuous of you to assume that just because you feel happy when shabas comes it's like that for everybody there's a lot of people he said a whole demographic in clol people who are still single boys or girls and when Thursday night comes in they're like already where should I go to shabas I don't really have a place should I go should I go back there siblings cousins everybody's wonderful but it's not my house Friday afternoon they give they find somewhere to go but they don't run home from sh Friday night like like like you assume they don't walk into the house with their feet carrying them so excited he says it's presumptuous of you and it's tonee of you besides he says who says you love shabas you're so smug you're so sure you love chabas you work hard all we you don't see a family so you're going home you're going to see your wife and kids the house is is clean it's beautiful there's a delicious suda you're going to sing what's not like but who says that has anything to do with shabas of course he said this in a softer way I'm breaking down the Crux of what he said because he was alarmed and everything and he spoke Lum this it was a nice conversation he made a lot of smiley faces in it but what he was really saying was let's be honest and more than that and if you knew that this was his essential cry you're expecting something from me so show me that I'm obligated to do that who says if you're demanding something then I'm going to do it but show me that I have to so we started to learn together every Friday a sa from the early early and I'm going to be honest with you it was a little I was a little hesitant when we started to learn it because I thought that maybe it's a little above him the the ideas were may be a little too lofty they were very lofty for me I thought maybe for him and who says we started to learn it and I realized he was way ahead of me cuz like all humans he was a person of contrasts he was he was very funny he was hilarious but he was never a let he was very observant he saw everything but he was never cynical and he was very open-minded and tolerant and non-judgmental but he was very yish he was yes he was a all the way till the end that when he said the words my father when he said the word my rebi you saw all the schs in the world and when it came into these ideas in shabas and a lot of times I found myself saying them slowly because I wasn't sure he would buy into them right away like I said he was humming them already back to me whether I understood it or he understood it he felt it he felt that the made the world for a reason he felt what happened on chabas and as we learned it I started to realize just how little I knew he made me like shabas with his honesty with his Relentless desire for truth to understand things and his human need to make himself into a for any kind of available greatness that's the glory that the VLAN desires our last real conversation was about this event I was trying to convince him to come he wasn't sure he wanted to doia the day after rashash and I think he suspected my real agenda I said Mrs kazone from Lynx is here I don't know know if there's an organization in CL all blessed with that kind of leadership that kind of heart that kind of AR that kind of personality person who who lives and breeds and feels this organization and every limb in her body I Saidi they're carrying a lot ofon and you could help them you have a message for them you have a voice to them not that many people have your talent and not that many people are equipped with yourish and your ability and he said I'm not inspiring to anybody I'm not a speaker I'm not a rabbi leave that for in his he he uh explained who he thought that was meant for not for him he wants to sing and go home but he knew the truth that he was inspiring and he said okay you know what I'm going to do it I don't know if I'll meet her yeah fine I'll meet her I'll I said you have so much to give you have so much to give I want to close with something I heard today from his cousin Sal cats had the unenviable job today they brought him back's car just to clean out the car and he went through it he found the typical things that one would expect to find in the car of oldak who went away F suitcase and some articles of clothing and stuff that lies around and mail and you know stuff that has to be taken care of and then in the back in the trunk under the suitcase he saw like a very nice bag like an amazing saving bags and inside was a nice bag like something that was obviously very precious thei and and his hands were trembling he told me a little bit when he opened up that bag and in it was it the hom one to hel a faded to hel a used to hel notes on some some papers some fragments of papers onad and a little picture frame in the picture frame was the name of his parents on his byid invitation cut out Mrs alats and a picture of him looking at his mother from his mitzah those are the three things in his bag that he kept under all that other stuff his tum his Kar notes and a picture of his mother everybody in situation there are so many is carrying a bag somewhere and then that they have their TM and their picture that they're carrying life to G that there's an organization like Lynx that allows them to take out that picture to cherish that picture to look at that picture to know what to do with that picture and when to use that picture teach them to be human cuz there's no organization like L that teaches you that it's okay to laugh and it's also okay to cry it's okay to have a bad day cuz you're also going to have good days it's also okay to walk around little p piece of your heart broken because the rest of your heart is whole links is the organization of was the voice should help that the song that comes out of this this this event tonight even didn't getting together to do he should hear that song and thank you [Applause]