Rabbi Yoel Kahan A"H - Part XIII

00:00 The continuation to the earlier installments regarding an overview of Rabbi Yael Kahn's life, we now continue and conclude with installment number thirteen. As we are concluding the series on Rab Yael, I will discuss some personal experiences that I privileged to have with Rab Yael. Over the many years, we heard and knew of Rab Yael and revered him very highly. The in the Lubavitch Yeshiva over the years had the merit to have him as a teacher of first in the Lubavitch Yeshiva as it was located on Bedford and Dean Street in Brooklyn, and in later years at Ocean Parkway between Avenue H and I. Rab Yael would come in the evenings and deliver the shiur. At the time, we were somewhat older than bar mitzvah. From the year late nineteen sixty-nine, who were already studying in seven seventy for a few years, would for the duration of a year, full year, move to Lubavitch Yeshiva on Ocean Parkway and do their studies there while remaining there through the week. The the group of these seven seventy studying in the same as the younger enhanced the learning of the younger students. Plus, the younger ones would be modeling after the older . This was a For the year nineteen seventy-four, I joined the group of who stayed in the Lubavitch Yeshiva on Ocean Parkway throughout the year. We again had the privilege to have Rab Yael giving us shiurim. In addition, as we were much older than the earlier occasion when we learned by him, Rab Yael

02:23 related to us on a higher standard. He selflessly would spend hours with us sharing Hasidic insights, stories, etc. On special occasions, he would farbreng with us into the late hours of the night or the early hours of the morning, after which he would return to Crown Heights. From a personal perspective, Rab Yael and his wife, should be well, lived on Montgomery Street for decades on the same block as where my family lives. I would see him quite often as he walked by the block on his way to seven seventy. He greeted people. In the later years, he occasionally would stop and ask me when he saw me in the street if we can speak, and would either ask something or converse briefly on a topic. Over the years of my research and the publishing of Sfarim, I would consult with Rab Yael on various matters, and he guided me with a strong assurance. One of the projects was namely the Hayom Yom, research and analysis on the calendar, which contains a Hasidic quote for every day, which the Rebbe compiled and published in nineteen forty-three. When a specific pattern was discovered in the Hayom Yom, it was natural that one is challenged with questions and doubts from the readers. People would ask questions, "How do you know? How are you so sure about it?" When I consulted with Rab Yael and showed him samples of the work, he advised me by saying, "If you see a consistency in a specific major aspect or feature of

04:31 the Hayom Yom calendar, it is the best proof that the work is correct and authentic." And he as- assured me to continue. On that occasion, Rab Yael related to me the fact that Rab Yisroel Arye Leib, the Rebbe's brother, who lived in Eretz Yisroel, lived also in England. When he received the Hayom Yom in nineteen forty-three, the Rebbe would send him the newly published Sfarim as soon as they were released from the publishing house. This was the Rebbe's first sefer. Rab Yisroel Arye Leib was overjoyed and said then about the Rebbe, "I knew he was brilliant, but I did not know that it was to such an extent." Rab Yael concluded from this story that with the research on the Hayom Yom, one can begin appreciating the words of Rab Yisroel Arye Leib. An additional field of interest for me was writing up an overview of the chain of creation, Seder Hishtalshelus, with brief Hasidic explanations. This took place in the early nuns or the nineties. At the time, this was done for the benefit of the younger students who studied in the mesivta and were not so familiarized with terms in Hasidus. I shared it with Rab Ye'el who reviewed it and he was Baruch Hashem very pleased with it. When it was ready to be published as a soft cover kevitz booklet of about a hundred pages, I wrote to the Rebbe to receive the consent for the publishing. The Rebbe responded that I should receive the advice of the Rabbonim. While discussing

06:32 it with one of the Rabbonim, I made mention that Rab Ye'el was pleased with it. The Rav asked me, can he give this in writing? Soon after, I approached Rab Ye'el and requested his opinion in writing, which he immediately wrote up the letter and handed it to me. The kevitz was then published with the title under the Kahas Publication Society, and since then five editions have been published. A third field of interest in which I ardently worked for many years was the mafteches on the Rebbe's sichas talks over the 42 years. It was after the Rebbe suffered a stroke on the 27th of the first Adar Tov Shin Nun Beis 1992, and his speech was impaired, that I felt there was a need to make a mafteach on all the Rebbe's talks over all the years up to that point. A mafteach, an index, catalogs all the topics in a book, for example, in entries which are sequenced in the order of the alphabet. Rab Ye'el constantly encouraged me that this is a very important project, and this is how the Rebbe's teachings are spread forthward everywhere. I was privileged to learn that Rab Ye'el himself would use the mafteach. While on the topic of mafteches, it would be noteworthy to briefly add, the Rebbe taught us as a role model by him personally creating many indexes on the works of the Rabbeim. In addition, the Rebbe taught and urged Chassidim and authors of all walks of life the importance, or better yet, the necessity

08:36 of making an index, cataloging the entries according to the alphabet. One can then efficiently find what he's searching for without unnecessary exertion or waste of time. In summation, as we conclude for the time being the 13-part series on Rab Ye'el's life and activities, I owe it to Rab Ye'el who constantly gave encouragement in the above-mentioned projects. V'yehi ratzon that very soon we will see the fulfillment of the prophecy, v'akitzev aranan leshech niofar, and they will awaken those who are for the time dwelling in the dust and rejoice, etc., and Rab Ye'el amongst them.