Rav Yosef Tendler z"l

After writing my last post I got to thinking about Rabbi Tendler again and I realized just how much I owe him and am indebted to him.

I don't necessarily agree with him on some of his  השקפות but facts are facts: I am forever indebted to him for what he gave me and did for me.

There wasn't really much reason to accept me. I was coming from a modern orthodox high-school, modern-orthodox community, modern orthodox family asking to join in for 11th grade. I'm sure R' Tendler knew at the time (as opposed to my innocent naivete) that I wasn't going to fit into Ner Yisroel or my particular classmates with the smoothest of ease. It was definitely going to be a kink in their program.

But he took me in nonetheless. And when he saw things were going difficult for me he tried to help me. He would learn with me b'chavrusa in the middle of the beis medrash just to "put me on the map" with the other guys and help facilitate their warming up to me (atleast that's what I surmise was his motive). At the time I didn't think anything special of it but looking back I realized how outrageous it was for the Rosh Mechina to be sitting among the Mechina desks in the back learning with a "newbie" talmid.

And those years in Ner Yisroel were probably some of the best of my life, where I grew in just about everything on account of chaverim, rebeim, avreichim, hanhala, and the yeshiva atmosphere in general. All this from R' Tendler.... and I never really took the opportunity to express just how shamefully indebted I am to him for what he gave me.... Thank you Rabbi Tendler. Truly.


Hesped of R' Tendler