As of twelve years ago, Jerry Dantzic was on my radar. I had first seen his name in 1997 on the back of a picture of the Rebbe, of righteous memory, together with former President of Israel Zalman Shazar in 1973. I immediately jotted down the information from the back of the picture and later called the number, which turned out to be his office. I was told that Jerry was sick in bed and his caretaker gave me his son Grayson's number, who, she told me, ran the Jerry Dantzic Archive.
A short while later I bumped into Grayson at a gallery displaying his father's pictures at the Chassidic Art Institute run by Zev Markowitz. I came to know a gem of a person, kind and understanding, with whom I have since spent many precious hours.
Grayson brought me to his father and I subsequently wrote an article for a Hebrew magazine about his pictures. At that time I also met Grayson's mother, Cynthia, who is a photographer in her own right and an exceptional artist too.
In 2006 Jerry died, but, in Grayson's words, "Jerry is still alive via his photographs."
The pictures Jerry photographed of the Rebbe and Shazar convey the deep love that existed between the two. But the story behind the photos made an even greater impression on me. For the pictures seem to portray a meeting between the Rebbe and a President of Israel who was received with the greatest respect and honor. Yet just a few days earlier, when he arrived in Houston, only a few came to greet him at the airport. No reception, no huge gathering and no great honor. Why? Because Shazar was in fact not the sitting president of Israel.
Taking leave from office, especially from such a prestigious office, could be very painful; no more power, no more connections, the spotlight is removed and everyone who once needed you now forgets that you even exist.
That was not the case with the Rebbe. In fact, many mistakenly describe the meeting as having occurred between "the Rebbe and the Israeli President." (See here, where Jewish Educational Media dubs it the "Visit by the President of Israel.") I understand the reason behind the confusion—it certainly looks like a presidential call and that is the way the Rebbe made it feel: The President of Israel is coming.
This made a great impression on Shazar: "True friends," said Shazar afterwards in an interview with the media, "still come to speak and confer with me..."
Click here to read an overview of the visit, accompanied by photos of the event captured by the lens of Jerry Dantzic's camera.
