Waldo Finds Himself: When the world’s most elusive man turned up at the Siyum HaShas, it raised more than a few eyebrows

Reb Waldo, people have been searching for you for decades. I remember searching for you as a kid, and my own children have spent a portion of their childhoods looking for you. How did all this start?
I suppose it all started when I was five years old, in 1994. My parents took me downtown and I got lost. They started looking for me, and others joined the search. Within an hour I was located. That’s all I remember, to be honest.

And yet that hasn’t stopped people for continuing to look for you, decades after you were found.
I guess not everyone got the memo. You’d have to ask them.

I find it interesting that the locations people most often search for you are places where nearly everyone is dressed in your signature white-and-red striped shirts.
Yeah, apparently there was a huge sale going on that lasted for years. The oilam took advantage.

And wearing such clothing wasn’t against your school’s dress code?
I think it was, but they never caught me on account of how well I blended in.

If your school had decided to throw you out I doubt you’d be completing Shas right now.
Well, I didn’t finish with the previous cycle, but I did start this round.

You’re rarely seen in public. When you showed up to the Siyum HaShas it caused quite a stir.
I actually had thought about showing up as Waldo at the previous Siyum HaShas; I thought it would be cute and funny. This time I decided to go through with it, but I didn’t know how it would go over, so I didn’t wear the costume the entire time. I kept it under my regular clothes and just wore it for about ten to 15 minutes.

Wait. So you’re not the real Waldo?
Nope. No one is.

Are you sure?
I mean, maybe one day the real Waldo will stand up and reveal himself. But it’s definitely not me.

So who are you and why am I interviewing you?
My name is Yonatan Gray. If I had to guess I’d say you’re interviewing me because the real Waldo was not available for comment.

On account that he doesn’t exist?
Basically.

Anyway, how did people at the Siyum HaShas react?
I got a few thumbs up. Most people sat there as if nothing was happening. One person came over with a flip phone for a picture, and then later, as people took pictures of my section, it started blowing up. I got a lot of compliments. People were saying I did a good job; they thought it was cool. Some people even said they thought it was the best part of the Siyum.

The best part of the Siyum? Seriously?
I guess they meant of the program.

What were you trying to accomplish?
I honestly didn’t expect it to go viral the way it did. The shtick was for myself, and for my personal social media. I wanted one or two pictures, and there was a photographer there who agreed to take them. But those were not the pictures that went around anyway.

How has your life changed since going viral?
The only thing that changed were my clothes.

Are you at least planning to dress as Waldo for Purim?
That’s gonna be a game-time decision.

 

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