I remember Max describing his and Esther’s experience studying with Martin Buber in Jerusalem. Max said that Martin Buber, so to speak, practiced what he preached regarding the I-Thou relationship. In particular, during classes, when a student asked him a question, Martin Buber would walk over to the student, look at the student’s face, and speak directly (and kindly) with the student (presumably loudly enough so that all the other students could hear the interchange).
I remember that during part of the time Fabrangen met at G.W. Hillel, the specific candies that Max kept in his tallis bag and gave out to the children were long red twisted licorice sticks. However, yesterday my daughter Flora told me that before and after that phase, Max had other types of candy in his tallis bag.
I remember Max telling a story (more than once) that on a trip to Istanbul (?), he declined a gabbai’s request that he do the Torah leyning, and after services was told by the gabbai “You should have done it” (because the leyner had struggled so much). I think the situation appealed to his sense of humor.
— John Spiegel