Mr. Yossi Steiner, A"H

Mr. Yossi Steiner, a"h

Mr. Yossie Steiner personified the Mishna in Pirkei Avos, “Eizehu chacham? Halomed mikal adam” Anyone he met said he was a person of depth. He could strike up conversation with any person and immediately take interest in whatever it was they were busy with at the time. 

He frequently quoted his rebbeim- R’ Chaim Epstein, whom he kept a kesher with for many years, and R’ Gussman, whom he learned under in E’Y for just a few months, but learned so much from. He always had a dvar torah on hand, and he somehow managed to tie it into any situation, even when helping someone with a computer problem. 

He  loved to entertain others with his witty sense of humor and magical qualities- he was quick with his fingers and knew many tricks. He also loved a “good line” and would repeat them with the same zeal to anyone he met; it gave him so much pleasure to make others laugh. He had the ability to liven up any room he walked into. He was like the epicenter, especially on a chasuna dance floor, even if he didn’t know the families well. He was a talented dancer, but he didn’t perform cartwheels and flips (even in his 40’s) just to show off- he loved to have the mitzvah of being misameach the chosson and kallah.

It’s hard to describe the way he helped others with their personal problems, because much of what he did, he didn’t tell to anyone. For example, the first person to walk into the shiva house wouldn’t tell us his name or how R’ Yossi  helped him. It was obvious to us that it was something big enough to impact this man’s life. That’s the way he did things- without taking the credit or honor, and just for the sake of helping people.

He taught everyone what was important in life by the things we know he valued- Torah, Chessed, and Simchas Hachayim.