Darrell Zaslow was a man who every day of his life exhibited this same characteristic.  A person of remarkable intellect, impeccable integrity, humility, commitment, accomplishments and friendship, Darrell had many individual things in his life about which to be proud.  But the combined characteristics in one human being made for a person who was far more than the sum of his parts.  They made him a true marvel.

Above, I refer to Darrell as “My Friend”.  He was my friend indeed.  Darrell and I learned Torah together, discussed Jewish philosophy and kabbalistic ideas and bantered about our mutual practices of law.  We had discussions about wormholes.  Were they merely interspatial conduits or as I advocated, were they also capable of being inter-dimensional and even trans-temporal conduits? We analyzed ancient books of astronomy and obscure Midrashim on the creation of the world.  We shared an appreciation for Star Trek and even enjoyed an annual diversion to play Poker. But I know Darrell had many such friends.  He had friends who appreciated his passion for writing, his love for music, his knowledge of American and Jewish History.  Darrell’s vast array of interests and mastery of so many disciplines allowed him to relate and be friends with everyone.  I know the loss I feel is shared by literally thousands others on many different levels.

Darrell touched and impacted so many lives.  His intellect was matched by his compassion for others.  Darrell was devoted to assisting the sick and the elderly.  But he didn’t merely assist, he befriended all.  No one was his project for being compassionate, rather they became his friend and friends helped each other.  Darrell was never too busy mastering the precise timeline of Jewish history or the intricacies of Family law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to help another. Darrell had time for everything and everyone.

I enjoyed listening to Darrell’s lectures and dissertations.  He was a masterful speaker who managed to convey many of his brilliant thoughts to even the most novice of listeners.  His combination of knowledge, humor and delivery made him a treat to listen too. He was an equally wonderful audience.  After the daunting task of following Darrell on a Playbill, he would ask pointed questions and challenge me on my presentation.  Did the Miriam Webster dictionary actually debate removing the word “Jew” from its listings or was it happenstance?  Was Moshe Rabbeinu born great or was his greatness the product of his actions and discipline?  Was Nimrod the same person as Hammurabi?  - A conclusion we both reached from quite different sources.  Was Esther’s choice in the Megillah sanctioned by Halacha?  A mere sample of the discussions which I had with my friend Darrell.

Darrell was just as comfortable reflecting on nuances of the various Davidic kings and the turmoil of Shabtzai Tzvi as the best climate to foster maximum growth in vegetation which were native to the Galapagos islands.  Neville Chamberlain’s naive treaty with Hitler and how it relates to the modern pacification of Iran.  Books could have been written on the pearls of wisdom which we would glean from Darrell. 

We didn’t always agree.  Darrell’s broad and deep base of knowledge allowed him to challenge any premise.  He always prefaced his disagreement with, “you know more Torah than I ever will but…”  It wasn’t true.   Darrell was a great Torah scholar.  His areas of study were in some ways different then mine, but no less valuable.  And he mastered what he studied.  Often I got the impression that the challenge was not real but intended just to help me further the development of my thoughts into a more robust theorem.  Although, when the disagreements were genuine, they were never personal.  Darrell articulated his counter point of view always from an intellectual perspective, never from a personal one. His responses always left you with the desire to acquire more knowledge.  That was one of Darrell’s main quests – the relentless pursuit of the truth.  Historical truth, Scientific truth or Philosophical truth. He found them all in his deep personal bond with Torah. 

Darrell came to understand that the Torah encompassed and embodied the one truth he had always been seeking. He devoted much of his life to learning, studying and analyzing the nuances of Hashem’s words and the actions and teachings of our sages.  Darrell’s lifelong pursuit of truth is what led him to his devotion to Hashem and his Torah.  Darrell was a man of integrity – when he said something, you knew it was factual.  And he was a person of Simcha – every word that he uttered he gave over with a smile and a pleasant face. 

Darrell relished in other peoples accomplishments and had a profound joy in their happiness.  One erev Succos Darrell came into Shul to check on his magnificent display of live esrogim trees.  By chance, I happened to be in the Beis Hamedrash learning Meseches Me’Ilah with my Chaverusa (and eventual Mechutan) Dr. Dov Frankel. Darell gave us a warm smile of approval and commented how happy he was to see us learning in advance of mincha.  But that wasn’t enough.  Darrell tended to his esrogim display and returned to take a photograph of Dov and I learning together.  Darrell wanted to cement his approval by telling us it was a moment he felt was worth capturing. 

What one couldn’t help but admire was Darrell’s mastery of time.  Darrell accomplished in a day what took most people a week and in a month he accomplished what most did in a year.  While some would argue the apparent inconsistent math of those two sentences, Darrell would posit that accomplishments through time are not simply cumulative but rather geometrical.  How did Darrell have time to be a successful attorney, a published author of both secular and Torah topics, a devoted family man, a community activist and a friend to all?  For most, Multi-tasking and intense focus are mutually exclusive.  Not to Darrell.  He could be holding in a variety of different things at one time, with attention to the most minute detail of each. 

Most people with such an impressive array of interests and accomplishments would be people of isolation or singularity of purpose.  Not Darrell.  His love, devotion and pride of his family were the crowning jewel of his life.  People often wonder if they have successfully conveyed their values to their family.  As has often been stated, you can’t fake great children.  Darrell’s children, each a brilliant light in their own right, echo and amplify the sterling man who was my friend.  Darrell was not just committed to his wife, he was her true partner.  Many of their projects of caring and compassion were done together, clearly a product of true harmony and shared values cultivated over a five decade relationship of love and respect.  Indeed, as Darrell learned of his illness and prognosis, his only regret was that his wife would be a young widow. 

Darrell did not try to cheat death. He relished the opportunity given to him to face it like the G-d fearing man he was.  He came to shul until it was impossible for him to do so. He welcomed his friends with his usual smile and joy, no matter how he was feeling at that particular moment.  He was a man who had developed true Dveykus with his creator and feared not from their meeting. 

His authorship was mastery.  Whether writing about R’ Avigdor Millers works or the timelines of Jewish History, Darrell would write nothing without owning it.  Some of his recent work of dates and years are nothing short of astounding, causing one to wonder how he figured such things out.  The Approaching Year 6000 led me to try my hand at one of Darrell’s computations.   We are currently in the Hebrew year of 5777, 233 years from the latest date for Moshiach’s arrival according to numerous sources cited in Darrell’s book.    We recently learned that there was some dispute over Darrell’s Hebrew name. Some called him Dovid Meir and others simply called him Dovid.  Meir is the numerical equivalent (Gematria) of 251.  If you subtract the two Dovid’s, the one by which he was known and the other which was part of part of Dovid Meir from 251, you arrive at 233.  Darrell was taken from us exactly the same amount of years before the Meir – the light in his name which pre-told of the end of days. 

Some people inspire us to do good. Some inspire us to work hard. Still others, to be devoted to our families and to think.  Rare is the individual who can motivate people on so many levels.  Darrell was such a man.  He managed to make himself into a place where V’shachanti B’Sochom was possible. We will miss him but will never stop striving to achieve the many lessons he left for us all.