Remembering Yankie

By: Sandy Eller

He was a one-man chesed machine, a relentless individual whose passion for helping others drove him to spend full days and many sleepless nights easing the pain of those facing the most difficult moments of their lives.

It’s been three years since Misaskim founder Yankie Meyer left this world, and even now, his absence is still glaringly, and achingly, felt by those who knew him, worked with him, and were the beneficiaries of his seemingly endless acts of kindness. While Misaskim is most commonly associated with the low chairs and other accoutrements of shivah that make life more bearable for aveilim, those items are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to addressing all that Reb Yaakov Michoel ben Hachover Yisroel, known simply as Yankie, accomplished in his lifetime.

Yankie wore many hats, in addition to his work at Misaskim. He was B-41 at Hatzalah, and a chaplain with the NYPD, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the New Jersey Transit Police, and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. He was a Daf Yomi yid who volunteered for Tomchei Shabbos and never stopped moving. Even more importantly, he never stopped caring.

As someone whose job often involved giving people the worst news of their lives, you might think that Yankie would have developed the ability to shield himself from the heartache of death, but that wasn’t his way at all. While on the outside Yankie kept on going, doing what needed to be done, making calls to prevent autopsies, expedite death certificates, and get bodies onto Eretz Yisrael flights for kevurah in record time, he carried the emotion of his work with him on the inside. On rare occasions, he would mention the deep sorrow that lingered in his heart as he waited at airports to tell people emerging from a flight that a loved one had passed. Discussing the tragic 2015 Flatbush fire that claimed the lives of the seven Sassoon children with this writer, Yankie grew uncharacteristically emotional as he recalled the horror of having niftarim in four different hospitals, and having to break the news to the family patriarch.

Yankie was completely in his element using his admirable organizational skills to coordinate large events, including the annual Aseres Yemei Teshuva Tehillim asifa that connected thousands of children from all over the world, the 12th Siyum Hashas, and the 2012 Citi Field internet asifah. When the New York City medical examiner’s office attempted to roll out a relatively untested record keeping system in 2018 that would inevitably delay the burial permit process, Yankie left no stone unturned, successfully teaming up with Muslim clerics to insist on certain changes being made to the system.

I had the honor and privilege of writing about and for Yankie for eleven years, and I still remember the joy in his voice as he told me about his many efforts to assist almanas and yesomim. Having seen with his own eyes that families needed more, not less, support once shivah ended, Yankie resolved to make sure that children who lost a parent looked forward to yomim tovim, instead of dreading them. His Project Yedid arranged cholhamoed trips, Chanukah gifts, and special concerts for those kids, finding ways to expand the circle when COVID had the number of yesomim reaching unimaginable levels. How proud he was to be able to present those children with “gebentshte gelt,” dollar bills that he had personally brought to our generation’s gedolim so that they could extend their personal blessings to Project Yedid’s children. I can still remember how excited Yankie was when he decided to create a special Purim initiative, sending beautifully designed invitations out to almanosso they could order everything they could possibly need for a festive seudah with the hechsher of their choice. Yankie delighted in the opportunity to give almanos the pleasure of hosting a lavish Purim seudah in their own homes, instead of being a guest at someone else’s table.

Well known for his heart of gold, Yankie also earned a reputation for his incredible humility. While he was always quick to thank others and credit them for their efforts, he never patted himself on the back for the considerable work that he did, because he felt that looking at the big picture, he just wasn’t an important part of the story. In fact, after his untimely petirah in 2022, I discovered that I had inadvertently misspelled Yankie’s name in every single one of the many articles that I wrote for and about him. Not once did he correct me on my mistake, because it just didn’t matter to him—what mattered was helping people in need, giving his all every day, for acheinu Bnei Yisrael.

Of course, Yankie’s herculean list of accomplishments could never have happened without the support of his aishes chayil, Gittie. He was always quick to credit her as the power behind the throne, acknowledging the many times she stepped in to be there for the family while he was tending to the needs of Klal Yisrael. Whether it was a Meyer family Shabbos meal that started well after their neighbors in Boro Park had already retired for their afternoon naps, or a Pesach Seder where he had to make a hasty exit, Yankie readily acknowledged his wife’s incredible contributions, as well as those of Misaskim’s many volunteers and their nshei chayil.

Many pictures of Yankie have appeared in print over the years, but the one that stays with me most is one that he showed me that had recently been taken at his daughter’s wedding. There he was dressed in his wedding finery, the brim of his hat pulled low over his eyes as he stretched out on a chair and caught a quick nap before his guests arrived. Yankie had been busy much of that day, as well as the night before, coordinating the myriad logistics for the Skulener Rebbe’s levayah, a massive event. Could he have handed the job off to someone else, knowing that he had a family simcha? Sure, but that just wasn’t Yankie’s way. His way was to give and give and give, his life a lesson in what it means to dedicate yourself to taking care of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s children.

Three years later, Yankie’s voice still echoes, his hard work and determination charting a path for those who try valiantly to follow in his footsteps. Yankie taught us all what it means to care, even in life’s most challenging situations. May the memory of Reb Yaakov Michoel ben Hachover Yisroel continue inspiring us all to aim high, to never take no for an answer, and to give our all for those who are dealing with the pain of loss.