Which Students Deserve Preference
When we were about to open up a new yeshiva, we went to Maran
ztvk'l and asked him to teach us about yeshiva
administration. Maran told us that when one wishes to build
up a yeshiva and to accept students, one should bear in mind,
and to continually keep in mind — that more important
even than their scholastic capabilities is their character
and middos.
Interestingly, however, is the fact that years later, when I
went to visit Maran, he inquired if the yeshiva possessed
`good heads.' (HaRav A. Z. Margulies)
Yeshiva Dormitories
In one of the meetings that I had with him regarding the
yeshiva, I asked him: "They say that the Rosh Yeshiva objects
to yeshivos with dormitories. Why, then, should we establish
a yeshiva in Carmiel which will have to have a dormitory?"
Maran rose from his seat and shouted, "Again they misquote me
and attribute to me things I never said! If there are two
yeshivos with the same scholastic level and level of yiras
Shomayim, the only difference being that one has a
dormitory and the other not, then one should show preference
to the one without. But if the yeshiva with the dormitory is
the better one, one must certainly send there."
True to his word, when parents asked Maran for advice where
to send their sons, he recommended our yeshiva highly.
(HaRav Margulies)
One Should at Least Be Circumspect . . .
He was able to size up a person well. When I came to him once
regarding yeshiva matters and told him that boys were
sleeping in rented apartments, he asked me who checked up on
them. I replied that we kept vigil over them, sometimes even
checked up on them in the middle of the night.
He pounded the table with his fist several times and said,
"You have no idea what goes on under your very eyes!"
He, however, knew. He knew what was going in every city, in
every location, and exactly what the spiritual level was in
each place. (HaRav Y. D. Rosenberg)
Reciting the Korbonos in Yeshiva
I recall that at one of our meetings with the Rosh Yeshiva, I
asked Maran regarding the saying of korbonos, since in
many places it was not practiced. What should we do in our
yeshiva? I asked.
Maran told me that it is a praiseworthy thing for Torah
scholars to recite korbonos. I said that in most
yeshivas, they do not begin the prayers with korbonos.
Nonetheless, he said, he advises it, and whoever wishes to do
so, should come ten minutes earlier and say them. (HaRav
Margulies)
A Fifteen-Year-Old Expert in One Seder of Shas
Maran required getting expertise that was full to
overflowing. Thus did he write in a letter which he sent to
me to the yeshiva.
"When I was fifteen," he writes, and this teaches between the
lines how great he was even then, "I was — and you, at
your age, certainly, should be at least — perfect in
one seder, either Noshim or Nezikim. But
you should also know the others thoroughly. This is only
possible if you study diligently and review, review,
everything you've learned. Then you will easily possess
it."
This is what he demanded of a fifteen-year-old: that he be
expert in at least one whole order of gemora. We must
infer, then, that at this age, he, himself, was already fully
versed in several sedorim, for he writes, "at least."
(HaRav A. Z. Bergman)
The Study of Mussar
Maran would make a prodigious effort to go to yeshiva each
day for the Mussar session, and many stories are told
about this. Here is one of them: in 5752, when the yeshiva
was studying Bovo Metzia, he gave a shiur
klolli, expending a great deal of energy in the delivery.
As he was about to go home, he saw several students following
him. He immediately retraced his steps and went back to the
beis hamedrash for the Mussar session. And this
was not an exceptional instance . . . (HaRav A.
Garbuz)
Tefilloh in the Yeshiva
He was also very meticulous about prayers in yeshiva. He made
it a point to arrive a quarter hour before they began. One
morning, when he had to go to Tel Hashomer hospital, he
returned to the yeshiva only in time for the regular session.
And then he made a public statement:
"I was in Tel Hashomer this morning at seven. All the doctors
and nurses were already punctually there. Why can't they
understand here in yeshiva that one must be punctual?"
He would reiterate this point time and again: whoever was in
yeshiva is obligated to adhere to the yeshiva time schedule
and not be late. (HaRav A. Garbuz)
Not to Speak During the Seder
I recall that when we opened the yeshiva, he said to me: "Put
special emphasis on the prohibition of talking [idle talk]
during the seder, for this is the root of all evil."
(HaRav B. Pinchasi)
A Yeshiva Student Should Adhere to his Traditions
I once asked him about Sephardic yeshivos and the various
communities and traditions which they represent. Should a
yeshiva strive for conformity regarding the customs and
traditions of its students?
Maran replied that with regard to Torah study and the study
approach, a Sephardic yeshiva should not be any different
than other yeshivos. But when it came to individual customs,
each one should preserve the practices of his particular
community. He said that potential donors prefer to donate to
an institution that is near to their hearts and to the
traditions they maintain.
For example, on the first occasion that the 17th of Tammuz
arrived in the yeshiva of Sephardic youth, the question arose
as to reciting the tikkun chatzos in the afternoon. I
thought that when I attended yeshiva in my youth, this was
never practiced. Why institute it here and now? Perhaps this
was an innovation in the yeshiva world and should be frowned
upon.
I asked Maran and he replied that one did not change time-
respected traditions. I should inquire if it was practiced in
purely Sephardic yeshivos of the former generation, like
Yeshivat Porat Yosef in the Old City before statehood. He
even supplied me with the name of a person by whom I could
inquire. We asked and the reply was affirmative; we therefore
decided to incorporate this custom in our yeshiva, as well.
(Maran added that some Ashkenazic communities did practice
this and the custom could be found mentioned in the
Mishnah Berurah.) (HaRav B. Pinchasi)
Yeshiva Students Adhering to their Traditions II
It was Rosh Hashonoh in yeshiva. After the prayers, I wished
him, "A Gut Yom Tov," and then he asked me, "Where did
you hear the blowing of the shofar?"
I replied, "In yeshiva."
"No," he said, "that's not the right thing for you. You come
from a chassidic background and your father has a different
tradition than that of the yeshiva. You should have gone
somewhere else to hear it."
"But if it's good for the Rosh Yeshiva, isn't it good for
me?" I asked.
He said, "No. My father heard this order of blowing but in
your home, you have a different custom and order."
"Where can I go now to hear the shofar?"
Vishnitz was the only place where they davened later.
"So go to Vishnitz," he said.
"But then I won't have anywhere to eat."
"Never mind that. You go," said the Rosh Yeshiva.
Was it really so important, I asked. And he replied, "Yes!
`Al titosh . . . ' Do not abandon the ways and
traditions of your home. You are not smarter than your
father!" (HaRav M. Heisler)
Studying at Night
When he was asked what one should study at night, he replied
in his sweet manner, "At night, one should sleep." He
repeated this several times. When I explained that I was
referring to the third study session, he then advised me in
detail.
Anyone thinking about his reply understands that he wished to
convey his opinion that one should sleep at the proper time.
He added that a masmid is not necessarily one who goes
to sleep late. On the contrary, one should retire early at
night so as to be fully awake and alert during study time.
(HaRav Gavriel Y. Levi)
The Main Thing is Simchah
The last thing I wish to stress is that Maran demanded of us
to be joyful, to have a zest in life. We saw this exemplified
in him, in the flesh. He often stated that there is no
happier person than one who is within the walls of the
beis medrash.
Someone on the outside may appear to be happy, but this is
only an external show. Inside their hearts, they are broken
and crushed. The truly happy person is only one who is
privileged to be inside the beis medrash. And who can
deny the great measure of joy and satisfaction which the Rosh
Yeshiva radiated and exuded? (HaRav D. Zimmerman)
Mussar, Every Day, Mandatory!
When we came to the perek, Naaroh Hame'orosoh in Elul,
5722, he taught the entire chapter from beginning to end. He
did not skip over any of the words of the gemora or
the Ran.
In 5723 we studied Gittin. When he realized that the
students were not keeping up with him, he rebuked us and said
that that was not the right way. It is stated, "Fortunate is
the one who comes here [to the future world] with his study
in hand." He then read to us the eulogy that the author of
Nachalas Dovid said over his master, HaRav Chaim of
Volozhin ztvk'l. "I know that he reviewed the entire
Talmud in three days because of a certain din . . .
"
He continued to rebuke us for learning too slowly and
covering too little. This was his message throughout the
years, to demand that one study more and know more. This is
what he demanded of himself, as well. Every day, in whatever
leisure moment he had, he would review gemora, Rashi,
Tosafos which an avid thirst. (HaRav Y.
Ehrenfeld)
