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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
Introduction
HaRav Dovid Leibowitz zt'l, was one of the finest
products to issue from the Alter of Slobodka's beis
hamedrash, which was itself an outstanding producer from
which came a majority of the postwar Torah leaders. HaRav
Dovid was a great nephew of the Chofetz Chaim, with whom he
had a close relationship, and he learned in Radin for
several years before coming to Slobodka. It was the latter
of these two famous botei medrash however, that left
the most distinctive imprint upon him. His greatness as a
Torah educator was matched by his prominence as an expounder
of the Alter's thought and method.
In order to appreciate Reb Dovid's impact and potential, a
few words about the Alter of Slobodka and his influence are
in order. Although the Alter kept a low profile even within
his own yeshiva, his influence upon his talmidim could
hardly have been more far reaching. The phrase gadlus
ho'odom, that is usually used to sum up the Alter's
message, is really an oversimplification, and it can be
completely misunderstood.
The Alter implanted not one single idea, but an entire
language, or philosophy, of greatness within his students.
He infused a new outlook, new joy and a new self-image into
those whose self-worth and spiritual standing were
threatened by lack of respect in the Jewish street for the
ben Torah. His evocation of man's innate distinction
and boundless potential was so powerful, that it spurred
many of the talmidim to develop into giants of Torah
and mussar, becoming shining examples of man's
intellectual, emotional and spiritual splendor.
The Alter did not convey a finished set of ideas, or a fixed
pattern of conduct; he conveyed a vision of grandeur so
potent that it acted as a ferment, fueling each individual
talmid's realization of his own potential and growth
to greatness. When this point about the Alter is
appreciated, one can begin to divine some powerful, common
influence in the inner growth -- despite the apparent lack
of outward uniformity -- among Slobodka's products.
Reb Dovid Leibowitz was not only one of the greatest figures
to emerge from the Alter's circle. He was also one of his
foremost disciples, possessing the ability to convey the
Slobodka message to further generations and shape young men
in both Torah and mussar, or rather, to inspire them
to grow and attain their full ethical and spiritual heights.
This was the task to which he applied himself when he
accepted a position as rosh yeshiva at Torah Vodaas
and in whose pursuance, he opened his own yeshiva several
years later.
With the strength and optimism of youth, he hoped, and did
in fact seem poised, to effect significant changes in Torah
education among the sizable and at least nominally observant
Jewish communities. However, he completed his mission in
this world at an early age. His work was interrupted when he
passed away tragically in his early fifties.
Reb Dovid's legacy was a rich one. Led by his only son,
HaRav Henoch Leibowitz ylct'a, his yeshiva grew and
prospered and, in keeping with Reb Dovid's aims, a
considerable proportion of the student body went on to
become rabbonim and marbitzei Torah. Over the years,
the yeshiva also opened numerous other Torah institutions
across the United States, as well as a branch in
Yerushalayim.
Many of Reb Dovid's own talmidim were and still are
prominent marbitzei Torah. The best known among them
were probably HaRav Gedaliah Schorr zt'l and HaRav
Avrohom Pam zt'l. For this article, another two of his
talmidim, ylct'a, shared their memories of Reb Dovid
with us: Rabbi Moshe Chait, rosh yeshiva of the
yeshiva's Yerushalayim branch and Rabbi Yisroel Rockove.
Interestingly, in a piece published as an introduction to
Kuntrus Zichron LeDovid (a collection of Reb Dovid's
shmuessen), Rabbi Chait recalls, " . . . he [Reb
Dovid] once remarked to us that bnei yeshiva [tend to]
ignore the introductions to the works of the Torah giants
and go straight to their chiddushim, without paying
attention to what is written in the introductions, where the
author's life history is usually recorded, reflecting his
personality and his approach to learning.
"Why indeed, [he asked,] should these [aspects of his life]
concern us? [After all,] the author's life is represented by
his chiddushim themselves; they are what we wish to
take from him." Our teacher [then] explained that it is
almost impossible to appreciate the full depth of the words
of Torah giants unless one first becomes familiar with the
crux and essence of their spiritual world and their
particular sacrifice for Torah study and for extending and
glorifying Torah, for this, ultimately, is the source of
their chiddushim."
This is a fitting idea to bear in mind when considering Reb
Dovid's own life. While Reb Dovid was a great man and a
superlative educator in his own right -- the whole point
about Slobodka being that there was no such thing as a
Slobodka "mold" -- viewing his life in the context of the
spiritual world that was his inspiration, affords a much
clearer understanding of what he aimed for and what he
achieved.
With the Chofetz Chaim
Reb Dovid was born in Zhetl, Poland, in 1889 (the town was
Russian until the First World War). Four years later, his
family moved to Warsaw. In 1902, he went to learn in the
Lomzhe Yeshiva and after a year there, he travelled to learn
in Radin, where he stayed for five years. Reb Dovid's
grandfather was a brother of the Chofetz Chaim and Reb Dovid
would later comment that it was the Chofetz Chaim who had
brought him to Radin.
He learned bechavrusa with the Chofetz Chaim for two
years for twelve hours a day, from nine a.m. to nine p.m.
They learned Hilchos Succah together, their study
serving as the basis for the Mishnah Berurah on these
halochos. In later years, whenever he heard someone
described as "a talmid of the Chofetz Chaim," Reb
Dovid would laugh and say that the Chofetz Chaim had no
talmidim, and that if anyone was entitled to call
himself his talmid, he was.
Interestingly, in a recently published volume of Me'ir
Einei Yisroel, HaRav Zachs, a grandson of the Chofetz
Chaim, makes the same observation about his grandfather.
Even HaRav Elchonon Wasserman zt'l Hy'd, who used to
travel regularly to Radin and who took from the Chofetz
Chaim as much as he could, never referred to himself as a
talmid.
In his article, Rabbi Chait mentions that Reb Dovid, " . . .
took pride solely in being a melamed, and [said that]
his uncle the Chofetz Chaim always said, `I am a
melamed, and my father was a melamed, and this
is our family's job over the generations, to be
melamdim.' "
Reb Naftoli Tropp zt'l, under whom Reb Dovid learned
in Radin, said of him before he was twenty that he was
already complete as a lamdan. In his youth, people
would test Reb Dovid by pointing out a sugya on which
Reb Chaim zt'l, had said Torah. Almost every time he
would anticipate Reb Chaim's difficulty and his
resolution.
When Reb Dovid wanted to leave Radin, he felt unable to do
so while his great uncle, the Chofetz Chaim, who had brought
him there in the first place, was in town. He therefore
waited until the Chofetz Chaim was away before making his
departure.
Knesses Beis Yisroel
In Radin, beards and long coats were customary and Reb Dovid
arrived in Slobodka bearded. In later years, he would
explain to his own talmidim, that the Chofetz Chaim's
opposition to shaving stemmed from his conviction that it
was wrong to alter people's image of a ben Torah as
having a more religious looking appearance than ordinary
people.
This was not the view taken by Slobodka however, where the
bochurim were clean-shaven and wore short suit
jackets, not as a concession but for reasons that belonged
to the overall philosophy of the place. Following his
arrival in Slobodka, Reb Dovid gradually trimmed his beard,
until he took it off completely. He said that when the Alter
saw him clean-shaven, he commented, "Now I can look at
you!"
Reb Dovid joined the Slobodka yeshiva in 1908 and learned
there for seven years, with the exception of a six month
period in 1912 when the Alter sent him to learn in the new
yeshiva in Rassein under HaRav Moshe Soloveitchik
zt'l. Among the well-known gedolei Torah with
whom Reb Dovid learned in Slobodka were, HaRav Aharon Kotler
zt'l, with whom he used to engage in heated Torah
debates, HaRav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt'l, who referred to
himself as Reb Dovid's talmid chover, HaRav Yaakov
Ruderman zt'l, whom Reb Yaakov claimed was strongly
influenced by Reb Dovid in his early development as a
lamdan, and HaRav Yitzchok Hutner zt'l, who, as
a bochur, was a frequent visitor to Reb Dovid's home
(after the latter returned to Slobodka to join the
kollel).
In time, Reb Dovid grew very close to the Alter, fully
absorbing his approach. Once, during the summer, when the
Alter would go to stay in the country for a time, Reb Dovid
was invited to be his guest over Shabbos. On erev
Shabbos while visiting the bathhouse, Reb Dovid slipped
and fell, breaking a rib and he was unable to keep his
engagement at the Alter's table. Afterwards, he heard that
the Alter had spoken at the table about the posuk (Shmuel
I 20:27), " . . . and Dovid's place was empty".
Rabbi Rockove recalls Reb Dovid mentioning that once, when
he was conversing with the Alter, the latter intimated to
him that he would like him to join the hanholoh of the
yeshiva. Reb Dovid said that at the time, he was shocked by
the suggestion and overwhelmed by its implications and that
he had been unable to give any answer. He reflected that it
had happened that way because his destiny had been to come
and spread Torah in America.
Reb Dovid's standing as a transmitter of the Alter's message
was widely appreciated. Rabbi Rockove remembers accompanying
Reb Dovid to the annual gatherings of Slobodka
talmidim held in New York on the twenty-ninth of
Shevat, the Alter's yahrtzeit. After Reb Dovid's
petiroh, in 5700 (1941), Rabbi Rockove continued
attending on his own, although as a young bochur he
was obviously too young to have known the Alter, who had
passed away fifteen years earlier. A son of the Alter, HaRav
Shimon Finkel zt'l, was in the United States at the
time and he attended the meeting. He noticed Rabbi Rockove
and asked him who he was.
"A Slobodker einikel (grandchild)," Rabbi Rockove
replied, and when Reb Shimon asked him what he meant, he
explained that he was a talmid of Reb Dovid
Leibowitz.
Reb Shimon's response was that in that case, he was not an
einikel but a first generation member of the "family,"
a true Slobodka talmid, since Reb Dovid had absorbed
the Alter's teachings in their full strength, without any
dilution or cooling.
Kollel Beis Yisroel
In 1915, Reb Dovid married. His rebbetzin was the
daughter of Rav Henoch Shereshevsky zt'l, rav of the
Polish towns of Salechnik and Beinukon. When his father-in-
law passed away shortly afterwards, Reb Dovid took over his
position as rov. In 1922 however, he returned to
Slobodka at the Alter's calling, to learn in the newly-
formed Slobodka Kollel, Beis Yisroel, which was headed by
the Alter's son-in-law HaRav Isaac Sher zt'l.
Among the kollel members were the best products of the
Slobodka yeshiva, men who were already highly accomplished
scholars. Many of them went on to become well known
roshei yeshiva or to author important seforim,
while many others were tragically murdered during the Second
World War, along with the rest of Lithuanian Jewry. The
kollel members used to take turns at addressing each
other both with chaburos on the topics that were
currently being studied and on mussar themes.
Some of Reb Dovid's talks, as recorded by one of the
listeners, were gathered and published several years ago in
Kuntrus Zichron LeDovid, mentioned earlier. While the
talks were presumably delivered in Yiddish, the notes
were made in loshon hakodesh, and have more of the air
of a literal transcribing than of a translation. This leads
to frequent difficulties in grasping Reb Dovid's precise
meaning, as noted by the editor of the collection, although
the force of Reb Dovid's personality, the depth of his
convictions and the atmosphere of Slobodka are all
transmitted most eloquently.
While each talk affords an invaluable glimpse into the mind
of a budding godol beTorah, one of them, entitled
Matoras Hakollel, most of which has been translated
and is presented here, gives as much of an insight into the
future course of Reb Dovid's own life as into the world of
his ideas. It is a stirring call to an elite group of the
yeshiva world's most promising young figures to rally in
order to ensure Torah's survival.
Yiddishkeit was then on the wane even in Europe,
although there were as yet no outer signs of the cataclysm
that would befall European Jewry twenty years later. Still,
both spiritual hazards and material hardships faced
observant Jews everywhere in the world -- in the fledgling
communities of the United States, Western Europe and Eretz
Yisroel, as well as in the established Eastern European
centers. To many, even minimal mitzvah observance seemed
doomed, let alone a vibrant Torah life.
In hindsight, Reb Dovid's call for dedicated Torah leaders
seems to have been startlingly prophetic, for these were
precisely the type of men who emerged, while he himself was
one of the first. His call was heeded by the many Slobodker
talmidim who began, in the even darker years that
followed, to rebuild Torah.
With Reb Yaakov
Reb Dovid's younger colleague, HaRav Yaakov Kamenetsky,
recalled several episodes from their younger years together,
which give us some fascinating glimpses of Reb Dovid in
Slobodka. (The stories are recorded in Reb Yaakov.)
Once, a brilliant baal teshuvoh, who had previously
studied to an advanced level in university, came to learn in
Slobodka. He had a regular chavrusa with Reb Dovid,
until one day, when he pointed out that a comment in the
gemora about the geography of a certain place in Eretz
Yisroel was at variance with the map. Reb Dovid refused to
continue learning with a chavrusa who questioned the
gemora on such a basis, but Reb Yaakov betook himself
to the problem, and scrutinized both the gemora and
the maps, until he came up with a way of resolving the
difficulty.
When Reb Dovid told the Chofetz Chaim of his plans to join
the kollel (for which he was giving up a rabbinic
post), his great uncle tried to dissuade him saying,
"Dovid'l, Dovid'l, you're a Cohen. What will
you
do when the Beis Hamikdosh is rebuilt and a Jew brings
you a lamb for a [korbon] chattos and you don't know
the halochos of offering the sacrifices?"
The kollel was learning Shabbos at the time and
Reb Dovid responded lightly, "What will I do if a Jew tells
me he did something on Shabbos and asks me if he has to
bring a chattos?"
But the Chofetz Chaim responded immediately, "For that you
already have my Mishnah Berurah."
Reb Yaakov and Reb Dovid had an arrangement whereby the
former would speak on the same topic which the latter had
addressed in his chaburoh the previous week, but
following a different approach. It was probably in reference
to this `partnership' that Reb Yaakov later commented, "I
would ask holtzeneh (wooden, i.e. solid, fundamental)
questions [not ingenious, penetrating ones]. But he could
not answer my questions and from those questions I would
build my chaburoh."
The kollel was very much connected to the yeshiva. The
Alter would give the kollel members their own
shmuess each week. The best bochurim in the
yeshiva would learn together with kollel members and
as one of the senior members, Reb Dovid undertook to guide
younger students, which, not unlike the Alter, he did at
times quite forcefully.
One teenaged talmid finished all of Shas in a
year, only to be told by Reb Dovid, "Without understanding,
it's not worth much." This talmid gave Reb Dovid the
credit for giving him the push that led him to become a
distinguished rosh yeshiva.
A Trip to America
Joining the kollel involved making a commitment to
learn there for five years and to take a turn at travelling
abroad to raise funds at some later point. Thus it was that
Reb Dovid arrived in the United States in 1926. At the time,
the recently founded Mesivta Torah Vodaas was in need of a
rosh yeshiva and Reb Dovid was recommended for the
post.
The decision to accept was not a straightforward one. Torah
disseminators with Reb Dovid's potential were as badly
needed in Europe as they were in the United States.
Moreover, a post as rosh yeshiva in Warsaw awaited Reb
Dovid should he return to Europe. He consulted the Chofetz
Chaim, whose advice resolved the matter, "Dovid, du kenst
boien Torah in America (You can build Torah in America)."
That was sufficient encouragement.
When Reb Yaakov came to New York, following Reb Dovid's
petiroh, he enquired as to how old his friend and
colleague Reb Dovid had been. On being told that Reb Dovid
had been just fifty-two years old, Reb Yaakov lamented,
"Vie kent die Ribono Shel Olom avec nemen azoi yung? (How
could the Ribono shel olom have taken him away at such a
young age?)" and added that had he lived, American Jewry
would have had a different face.
See also the translation of HaRav Dovid's talk on "The
Kollel's Aim" in the Opinion and Comment section.
End of Part I
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