In 1971 Ratindra Nath Sen and Hanoch Weil, organized a mathematical physics conference at the Technion, where I was a graduate student with J. Zak. It was at this meeting that I met two people who had profound influence on my scientific education. One was Alex Grossman, who effectively became my thesis advisor and the other was Barry who became my Rabbi, my teacher and menor, a coauthor and a friend.
As Barry likes to remind me, meeting is not reflexive and the first time he met me was a year later, in 1972, probably at Alex Grosmman villa in Provence.
The pejorative quote “Elegance is for tailors” is due to Boltzmann. I do not believe one needs to be apologetic about elegance, on the contrary. I think elegance is what draws many young students to mathematical physics, a field where job prospects are unclear. Good Mathematical physics is always elegant. Elegance is what drew me towards Barry. Barry’s was a master of scientific elegance. His ability to strip down complicated and obtrusive arguments, streamline proofs and cut through the thicket of convoluted reasoning to the core of the argument was unique. It worked magic on me and I think on many others of my generation.
So in 1976 I became Barry’s post doc on a personal stipend that was graciously given to me by Eugene Wigner. The stipend comes with a story: When Hitler came to power in the early thirties Wigner and von Neuman, being Jewish, had been stripped of their professorship in the TU Berlin. Wigner was reinstated sometimes after the war. He generously chose not to draw his TU salary but rather fund a scholarship which benefited, besides me, also Hans Cycon who coauthored with Barry and others a famous book.
In the early 80 Murph Goldberger was the president of Caltech. Murph was a great fan of Barry since their Princeton days and concocted a scheme to lure Barry from Princeton to Caltech. The scheme started innocently enough by inviting Barry to spend a year in sunshine California as a Fairchild Scholar. Murph plan worked like charm and a year of leave turned out to be a permanent move. Martha liked the change of coasts for good reasons too.
Princeton, at the time, was the Mecca of mathematical physics. It probably had the largest math physics group anywhere while Caltech, at least as far as mathematical physics was concerned, was like the rest of Saudi- Arabia: A desert with plenty of oil. Barry thrives in company. So he looked for someone to accompany him to the desert besides Peter Perry who was his grad student at the time. After some fruitless searching, Barry offered me to join him. The arrangement was curious. I must have been the only Princeton Assistant Professor who was hired on a condition that he takes leave. I never had an office at Princeton nor ever taught a class there, and my paycheck was mailed to me to California. I remember that the bank teller once asked me if I could swing a similar trick for her. She preferred the Bahama, however.
Anyway, since I had no official standing at Caltech, I decided to decorate myself as the Fairbaby scholar. The Fairkid year we spent together was a remarkable year, for I had Barry almost all to myself. In Princeton my appointments with Barry were scheduled for his walks to the parking lot, and occasionally a ride to Edison spending Shabat with Barry and Martha. How much leisure we had in this Fairkid year is evidenced by the fact that, hold on to your chairs, Barry and I used to regularly go swimming at lunch time at the Caltech swimming pool!
Can you imagine how many papers did not get written because of my corrupting influence on Barry! Swimming at the Caltech pool was very good for me: Here was a place where I could beat Barry fair and square. Barry, on the other hand, felt rather guilty about this frivolous waste of time. By way of apology he told me that the lost hours at the pool would be paid up by gained years in better health. Well, what could be more appropriate than to celebrate this wisdom a quarter of a century later?
Browsing in old albums from those days I found a picture of Berry and Baruch Fisher that I took at the first birthday of my daughter, Maayan. Maayan is now 26. As you can see from the picture, the main changes in Barry are that now he colors his bird white; that he ruffles it, and that he is far more relaxed than in those days.
Since Barry will have a rebuttal, I will let him explain why this picture is called the two Benedicts.
Barry, you are now sixty. Most of us probably do not enjoy being reminded about our advanced age, but I think that one of the nice things about you, Barry, is your optimism. You probably, enjoy being 60! I wish you fun with math, that you continue to enjoy working with young and bright colleagues, and that you and Martha enjoy good health and have lots of Nakhas with your children and grandchildren.
עד מאה ועשרים
Yosi
