Rabbi Lerman OBM was a gentle soul. He gave off no pretense - when I would greet him, sometimes running into him on the street in Crown Heights or at the Ohel, even though he was with his family, he stopped and made me feel that I was the only person.
One instance I ran into him in New York, after it had been some time since that I had lived in Atlanta. He was being helped along by a yungerman grandson. I respectfully approached Rabbi Lerman to give my respects. Also since it had been awhile and the setting where he associated me from was different (plus I look different), I refreshed his memory that I knew him from being by his son, Yossi, in Atlanta. In that moment, it was as if a spark in him was lit, and in that moment he let out with ruach that he was proud of Yossi. It was beautiful and wholesome to hear a man, advanced in his years, still evoke a closeness to, and dote on, his grown son with warmth and nachas, as if he had just shared a hug and a kiss with Rabbi Yossi.
A man such as him, deserving of much honor, still voluntarily sat in the back of the shul when he would come to visit in Atlanta. He smiled and encouraged all easily. We were all his family! Meir was like one of his boys. I will always remember him challenging me in a friendly game to name as many associations to Yiddishkite with a number... At the Pesach seder, when he would visit in Atlanta, he didn't sit with the men, he sat with his wife and let guests sit by the head of the table in his place.
Reflecting on Rabbi Lerman brings a smile to my face and warm feelings of calm... Thank you, Rabbi Lerman O"BM, and may your neshama have an aliyah. "