Funeral Details

Ever since I was a young child, whenever there was any gathering whether good times or sad, I always knew that my Uncle Bernard would be there to speak for us. Now we are here and miss his voice to comfort us with his wisdom. He would say he is so grateful to Hashem for all the good he receives and for his family and friends.

My uncle is a descendant of King David, the Vilna Gaon, and the Shela. His grandfather was a zionist who believed that Eretz Yisrael must be acquired one piece at a time. We have been taking those steps as well to make sure that this is passed on. Just yesterday before he passed away, we received a letter from the State Attorney General saying that even though there is a pandemic, we do not have to wait and that we can move forward in settling the land. This was because we said we will make sure it is moving one step at a time and not wait for them to reopen. I donâ??t think it is a coincidence that the State Attorney General issued this ruling just before my Uncle went to Olam Haba. It is also not a coincidence that this is a time where people are fighting for the right to succeed based on their ability and motivation, not by consideration of anything else like religion, skin color or gender. This he thought of as pure evil, and he was proud of Bubby for receiving one of the first Hebrew teachers licenses in America, that she was a fierce zionist, traveling to Palestine in 1935 and attended the 19th Zionist congress.

He was proud of my Zayde for also being an ardent Zionist and co-president of the local Mizrachi. He saw the love his father had for Israel when on his first trip, he prostrated himself and kissed the holy ground. Every Friday night my Zayde would tell him stories of the Hagana, the Irgun and Lehi. My uncle was motivated by these stories of returning Jewish servicemen (after WW2) that shipped weapons to Israel. He spent time in Israel living there even though it was not the best decision scientifically but because it was Israe

Jonathan Matkowsky

l. He made close friends and returned back and forth many times over his life.

He was proud of his father my zayde for taking care of his family and for putting his values first even if it meant getting fired. He learned from his father that a good name is better than all the riches in the world, and was the gentlest person he ever knew.

He remembers being pulled out of school in middle of the year because the school was not giving to the JNF.

He values the difference between right and wrong, between good and evil, the importance of family and friends, of zedaka and the importance of a good name, among others. He was most grateful for this and for all of his family.

But most of all, he was grateful to Hashem for my aunt Fraydie. He said marrying her was the best decision he ever made. He is grateful for his children as well as for his grandchildren and Andi and Lisa.

He is grateful for and proud of my father and Aunt Susan and of their spouses and their children, and for all of his cousins. He was very grateful to the USA and for the right to vote in accordance with what he thinks is in the best interest of the nation of Israel, which he saw inextricably intertwined with the land of Israel. Lastly, I remember my Uncle explaining to me how he is always learning Torah -- understanding Hashemâ??s world - through applied mathematics. He uniquely saw Hashem in his work, and felt like he was always studying Torah by learning of Hashemâ??s ways and contributing this light to the world. I hold you dear in my heart and love you very much.

Jonathan Matkowsky

May his precious Neshama have the highest of Aliyahs. He will be missed by all of us.

Marlene Yanofsky

May his precious Neshama have the highest of Aliyahs. He will be missed by all of us.

Marlene Yanofsky

Bernie and I first met when we were graduate students at the NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He was a couple years ahead of me and I was very naive and inexperienced in the rigors of New York City living and Graduate school. I had just been graduated from the University of Miami. We were also both observant Orthodox Jews in grad school, a rare person in those days at NYU.
I needed lots of guidance and was fortunate that Bernie befriended me and offered his advice very generously regarding how to find housing, how to find kosher restaurants and how to deal with Sabbath observance in Grad School (We once walked home from Mercer Street all the way to Washington Heights on a Shabbat. ) and how to deal with the challenges of Courant Institute Oral exams etc. That relationship never stopped.
A loyal and devoted friend even if we didn't meet each other often enough, whenever we met I cherished every get together with Bernie and his wonderful soul mate Yibadela L�¢'Chaim, Fraydie.
Fast forward 50 plus years when two years ago my wife Barbara and I spent Shabbat with Bernie and Fraydie.
Bernie sat us down to advise me and Barbara on how to deal with transition to retirement. He even followed up with a personal call the next day! Same old Bernie from my youth.

Melvyn Ciment

Others have mentioned his loyalty to the Jewish People and his support for even unpopular positions that he believed in as the right way. He supported his causes and his friends. I can testify to his loyalty to me personally at various stages of my mathematical career but, that would be too detailed for this occasion.
Bernie was an outstanding mathematician having recently been awarded the highest honor that an Applied mathematician can receive, the John Von Neumann award from SIAM. He was loyal to his thesis advisor Jospeh Keller who was one of the pre-eminent applied mathematicians of the past century. He admired Joe's mathematical skills and was a mathematical loyalist to him even though they shared few political or cultural opinions or positions. He saw what was truthful and good and was able to ignore the chaff but, he wasnâ??t afraid to let you know his opinions.
I will always cherish my memories with Bernie and some of the insights he helped me to better understand when I was young. I was fortunate to have had him as my friend.
May his memory be a blessing for his family and Am Yisrael that he so passionately loved.


Melvyn Ciment

Bernie was a very good neighbor and wonderful husband and father. He impressed me as being very intelligent and kind may he rest in peace and suffer no more he will be dearly missed.

Everett McKissic

Bernie was responsible for the start of my academic career. In Spring 1976 I was finishing a postdoctoral position at Cornell and had just begun to explore combustion as an area of research. Bernie had also begun to develop an interest in the area, and he invited me to apply for an assistant professorship at RPI. When I joined the department in Fall 1976 he immediately became a mentor, guide and collaborator. During that first year we would go down for day trips to New York city every few weeks, browsing at the Strand and Barnes & Noble bookstores, visiting NYU and having lunch at Bernieâ??s favorite delicatessen.

Although he left for Northwestern a year later, our collaboration continued for several years. I made frequent trips to Evanston, often staying at the Matkowsky house where Bernie and Fraydie were hosts most gracious. Bernie made sure that he took me to other departments to meet prominent folks I had only heard of, and I fondly recall our post-lunch walks by the lakeshore.

Bernie was an outstanding professional, collaborator, guide and friend. I will miss him; may he rest in peace.

Ashwani Kapila

Bernie was a wonderful man with a truly memorable personality. He was always incredibly kind and considerate of new faculty in the RPI Math Sciences Department, and helped all of us learn to navigate the systems we needed to learn. He was a wise man. Once we had a fire in an old farm house that we were renting. The firemen had left - there was dirt, ashes, and water everywhere - we had four children then. We were trying to figure out how to put everything together. There was a closet that had our family pictures on a top shelf, and we found some were damp, to the dismay particularly of my wife Nancy. At that point Bernie appeared in the house and found us in a dejected state. He asked how we were, and did not believe for a minute that we could have been "fine" as we said we were. So he grabbed dry cloths - maybe they were napkins - and started drying our precious picture books. And he said, "this too will pass" - words that I never forgot and have remembered to use at critical times in our lives. Another time we were at his home, and Fraydie had just completed one of the thousand things she did each day for her family. I do not recall what she had done, but never forgot what Bernie said. He leaned over toward her and said, "You are a good woman, Fraydie". A simple phrase of praise, but powerfully spoken and memorably delivered. How many times since, I have spoken them to Nancy, and she never fails to smile and remember Bernie's deep understanding of the words on those you love. Bernie, we will miss you. Alav ha-shalom.

Bill Siegmann

The news of Bernie's passing reached me only yesterday. I want to pay tribute as a former student of his at Northwestern. Bernie was truly an outstanding teacher, advisor, mentor and advocate. I am thankful for the decades of association and collaboration I was privileged to have with him. He changed the trajectory of my life and was instrumental to my returning to a rewarding career as a professor in this country. I was looking forward to spending more relaxed time with him here in South Florida. I will miss you Bernie. But your memory will remain evergreen in my heart. Thank you for your kindness. Adieu, Bernie.

David Olagunju