Leonard Bernstein - by Chaya Simon (as told by Marcia)

Another example of his modesty is that when he was about 13, the Boston Lubavitz yeshiva was having a very special guest for their annual banquet. Their guest speaker was Leonard Bernstein, the world famous composer and conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra. Of course they wanted to show the high scholastic level of the school to their famous guest, so they asked Gedaliah to make a speech. Maestro Bernstein was so impressed with Gedaliah that he went up to him afterwards, shook his hand and spoke to him personally. It really was quite an experience for a young man and I watched Gedaliah's face glow with pride. But he never mentioned it because he didn't want his brother Benzion to feel upset. You see, Bentzion, our musically talented brother, was supposed to attend the banquet as a guest. Since he had dreams of becoming a composer/conductor himself; it really meant a great deal to him to see Maestro Bernstein in person. Unfortunately, a day or so before the banquet Bentzion got sick and had to stay home while his little sister (me) had the unexpected pleasure of going to the banquet and personally witnessing the story I just told you.