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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
Almost exactly fifty years before his petiroh, HaRav
Shach was asked by the Ponevezher Rov to become the rosh
yeshiva of the largest home of Torah. Throughout his
life, the Rosh Yeshiva would recall the Ponevezher Rov as the
creator and generator of the large yeshiva, the largest in
Eretz Yisroel. Many regarded Ponevezh Yeshiva as the heir of
Volozhin, in fulfillment of the Chazal: "All the botei
medrash of Bovel will become established in Eretz
Yisroel." The Rosh Yeshiva himself wrote about the
Yeshiva in a letter that "it should be called the Mother of
yeshivos." For fifty years he was at its helm, charting its
course and zealously guarding its purity as the "flagship" of
all the yeshivos.
The Ponevezher Rov said that he was astounded that he had
just decided the day before, and then he met HaRav Shach in
Tel Aviv.
HaRav Karelenstein said that bochurim from the Yeshiva
used to go and speak with the Chazon Ish in learning on a
regular basis, and they used to come back and report on the
extreme praise that he heaped upon HaRav Shach. Every
Tuesday, someone used to tell over to the Chazon Ish the
shiur of the Rosh Yeshiva.
The Early Days of the Yeshiva
After the yomin tovim of 5712 (1951), according to one
version, the Rosh Yeshiva gave his first shiur on the
15th of Cheshvan. The Yeshiva was already firmly established,
and the initial, difficult years of the founding of the
Yeshiva and the first phases of integration were over.
Thanks to the efforts of HaRav Abba Grossbard zt"l, a
group of bochurim from the Lomzhe Yeshiva in Petach
Tikva came to Ponevezh. HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky came together
with this group, and was asked to be the rosh yeshiva.
For a while he stood at the Yeshiva's head and left his
imprint for many years. Later the famous mussar gaon
HaRav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler and HaRav Dovid Povarsky also
joined its ranks. All this was with the advice of the Chazon
Ish who wanted to raise the spiritual level of the Yeshiva
and appoint a world-renowned personality to join its
ranks.
The lot was cast, "It shall not be forgotten from the mouths
of his offspring." Sura, Pumbediso, Volozhin and Pressburg
now had a secure future. Another link was formed in the
golden chain.
It turns out that already in 5704 (1944) the Chazon Ish
expressed his opinion, but for some reason it did not work
out. The time had not yet come for the Yeshiva and for the
whole Olam HaTorah.
Not to Hurt Anybody
The Rosh Yeshiva's refined and noble character prevented his
immediate acceptance. He was reluctant because he felt that
the position belonged by right to HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky and
he asked to meet with him in order to receive his permission.
They met in an apartment in Ramat Gan. HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky
gave his consent immediately and when he saw that the Rosh
Yeshiva was still hesitant, he insisted that he accept the
offer. Only then did the Rosh Yeshiva agree to accept the
position from the Ponevezher Rov.
From then on a strong friendship sprung up between the two
roshei yeshivos. This deep relationship continued
throughout their joint leadership until 28th of Tammuz 5739
(1979) when HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky passed away.
The Rosh Yeshiva's great respect for Rav Shmuel was seen on
his first day in the yeshiva. The Ponevezher Rov took him to
his seat, opposite and parallel to his but to the left of the
Aron Hakodesh. The Rov sat on the right of the Aron
Hakodesh and HaRav Povarsky sat next to him. HaRav Shach
understood instinctively that he was being offered HaRav
Shmuel's seat and he refused to take it.
"A Lion has Come Up from Bovel"
The Ponevezher Rov was very joyful during the beginning of
Cheshvan. It was not just another Cheshvan. It could be that
the Rov sensed the extent of the greatness of the lion that
had come up from Bovel and his immense potential
influence.
Talmidim recall that during this time the Ponevezher
Rov was very excited and could not contain his happiness. He
would tell his close students over and over about his
satisfaction at having obtained such a huge personality as
the Rosh Yeshiva for the Yeshiva leadership. One of those
close to him relates: "The Rov was fully aware of the great
metzia he had secured. He was very excited about him
and walked around full of joy. He felt a need to share his
high spirits with us and we would hear him murmur once in a
while, `What a success! What joy! A lion has come from
Bovel.' "
The Meeting in the Central Bus Station
The first meeting between the Rov and the Rosh Yeshiva about
this matter was right after Yom Kippur in the Central Bus
Station in Tel Aviv.
"I heard from the Rov," says the rosh yeshiva of
Grodno, HaRav Karelenstein, "that the decision to ask the
Rosh Yeshiva to come to the Yeshiva was made during
musaf of Yom Kippur. The chesbon
hanefesh of the Rov on Yom Kippur was always about the
future of the Yeshiva."
He went the morning after Yom Kippur to the Central Bus
Station in Tel Aviv on yeshiva business. As the Rov was
walking down Mikveh Yisroel Street he saw the Rosh Yeshiva
who had come to Tel Aviv to search for arba minim in
the market there! The Rov considered this as a special
siyata deShmaya for the Yeshiva. He told those close
to him, "I went up to him and said, `Reb Leizerel I am on my
way to you!'"
And so in the middle of the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv
he made the proposal, an appointment which, in retrospect,
set the tone for the Torah's character for future
generations.
It is interesting to note that the idea to appoint Reb
Chatzkel to be the mashgiach in the Yeshiva came to
the Rov a year or two later, also in the middle of Yom
Kippur. He had known the Mashgiach for many years,
going back to the period when they were together in Kletsk.
This was [also] an important nomination for the future of the
Yeshiva and character of the bnei Torah, which the Rov
consummated the day after Yom Kippur as soon as he had
received the Rosh Yeshiva's agreement.
The Rov and the Chickens
The Rov spoke about the next meeting he had with the Rosh
Yeshiva in his home. The Rosh Yeshiva lived in Yerushalayim
at the time, and the Ponevezher Rov came to him to speak with
him about running the Yeshiva. During the visit the Rebbetzin
served mezonos and a drink. Suddenly with no prior
warning the Rosh Yeshiva got up, excused himself and left the
room. The Ponevezher Rov sat and waited.
Some minutes later the Rosh Yeshiva returned and they resumed
their discussion. Later they agreed on the matter and the
Rosh Yeshiva's acquiescence became a fait accompli.
Then the Ponevezher Rov could not contain himself and
expressed his astonishment at the Rosh Yeshiva's
disappearance in the middle of the discussion. He may have
interpreted his action as an expression of hesitation on the
Rosh Yeshiva's part, and wished to hear more about it.
"It's nothing," the Rosh Yeshiva replied. "I realized that as
a host I would also have to eat something and I remembered
the chickens in the yard which had not had their breakfast. A
person is not allowed to eat before feeding his animals so I
went outside to give them some seeds."
The Ponevezher Rov told this story many times. "Now you too
will understand my joy," he would finish. Then he would add,
"Such a man I wanted as the head of the Yeshiva, a man whose
every action is great and without any distractions."
"Di Toireh is Eyere"
The Rov understood immediately the decisive role of the Rosh
Yeshiva in the Torah and the formation of the image of the
Yeshiva. During one of his visits to the Brisker Rov, the
Ponevezher Rov discussed the quality and level of the Yeshiva
with him. He then added a statement, which reflected his
point of view beautifully.
"Di vent zennen meine," he said "ober di Toireh is
Eyere. Reb Leizer is doch deine." -- "The walls are mine,
but the Torah is yours. After all, Reb Leizer is yours!"
(Heard from Rav Dovid Frankl zt"l)
The Shabbos Table Before Candle Lighting
The Rov saw the Rosh Yeshiva as the pearl in the crown of the
Yeshiva's leadership. He did not hide his appreciation. He
boasted it and expressed his admiration before donors and
friends of the Yeshiva.
Reb Eliezer Dunner, a member of the Shearis Yisroel Beis Din
who had the merit of dining at the Rov's home many times with
his father-in-law Rav Binyomin Wolf zt"l, a wealthy
man from London who was known as a great Torah supporter and
was a dear friend of the Rov, recalls the following:
"The Rov would constantly boast his success in having
obtained a gavra rabbo such as HaRav Shach to head the
Yeshiva. On one occasion, during an erev Shabbos meal
he told us enthusiastically: "I will tell you who is HaRav
Shach." (This was during the period when Rav Shach was just
becoming famous throughout the Jewish world.) "Today erev
Shabbos the phone rang. A Jew from America was on the
line and needed Reb Leizer urgently. He does not have a
telephone, so the Jew called me. It was late, nearly
candlelighting time. I left my house to go call him.
"When I opened the door to his house I found him sitting by
his table. On the table were piles of seforim, some
opened, some closed and he was completely engrossed in his
learning. Candlelighting was in a few moments, but Reb Leizer
was oblivious of anything other than his daled amos.
He was totally absorbed in his sefer. He started at my
unexpected appearance and asked: `What happened?' I told him
that nothing happened, and that I only came to call him to
answer a transatlantic telephone call. He calmed down and
even apologized for the mess in the room.
"This is our Rosh Yeshiva," the Rov concluded in admiration.
"This is what his Shabbos table looks like moments before
Shabbos comes in."
Happy is the man who was fortunate enough to witness this.
Everything is Attributed to His Merit
The Rosh Yeshiva greatly appreciated and respected the
Ponevezher Rov's great personality and huge visionary spirit.
He was very grateful to him for giving him the opportunity to
teach Torah on such a grand scale. In all his droshos
and his speeches he would extol the Rov's great enterprise.
He would always make a point of mentioning that everything
was in the Rov's merit, that everything was to be to his
credit and everything came from him and because of him.
He constantly mentioned the Rov's noble character, his great
dedication to resurrect the dry bones of the remainder of the
Jewish nation, the concentration camp refugees, and his great
hopes for the coming of Moshiach.
Once he said that the Rov stored within his heart a whole
world for each and every Jew. He said that the burden the Rov
carrieds on his shoulders cannot be imagined, and he himself
felt the tragedy of the Holocaust on his own flesh. Despite
this, the Rov was always smiling, loved his fellow men and
brought them closer to the Torah.
The Rosh Yeshiva was always very particular to show his great
respect for the Rov in public, and he expressed his
admiration for him at every opportunity.
The Rosh Yeshiva participated in the Rov's shiurim
which took place on Shabbos. He would concentrate and take
part in the shiur from his place. This gave the
shiur extra strength. Sometimes the Rov would discuss
the sugya dealt with in the shiur with him.
It is told in Shimusho shel Torah that once the Rosh
Yeshiva told the Rov about the matter of "Kinyon melech
bepilegesh," that he was preceded in his brilliant
chidush by the amazing gaon HaRav Reuven of
Danenburg in his book Rosh Loreuveni. On motzei
Shabbos the Rosh Yeshiva brought the sefer to the
Rov's home who, with his great love for Torah, was excited
about as if it were a great treasure. The sefer stayed
with the Rov and the Rosh Yeshiva did not ask for its return
because of his great deference for the Rov, until after the
Rov's passing, although it was very precious to him.
The Sefer "Toldos Odom"
Thirty-three years ago in his hesped on the Ponevezher
Rov in the Yeshiva during his levaya, the Rosh Yeshiva
praised the Rov greatly and described him as a very active
and energetic person.
Only a few days before this, the Rosh Yeshiva had exhibited
his great admiration for anyone who established places of
Torah. When the Rov's condition deteriorated, the Rosh
Yeshiva took his grandchild, Avrohom Yeshaya, to receive a
blessing from the Rov before he passed away.
During the same hesped he related that he had once
asked the Rov why he did not write his many chidushim
and distribute them amongst Torah scholars.
The Rov's reply amazed the Rosh Yeshiva:
He said, "The book I write is different from other books. It
is a book about the history of man [filled with people]. My
`books' consist of people."
To this the Rosh Yeshiva remarked that the Ponevezher Rov did
not write only one or two books, not hundreds, but thousands
and thousands of books were created by the faithful hands of
the man who had a great love for everybody, the Rov who
produced many talmidim and worked so hard in order
that the Torah not be forgotten from amongst the Jewish
nation.
Also in the introduction to his book, he mentions the "Rov
the great Gaon, full of energy and activity, Rav Yosef Shlomo
Kahaneman, who was the one who established the Torah here in
our Holy Land from the day he arrived in Eretz
Yisroel.
"Hashem allowed him to survive and open up many Yeshivas
here," the Rosh Yeshiva concluded.
For many years the Rosh Yeshiva would mention the Rov in his
opening address of the Yarchei Kalla Yeshiva, which
was heard by thousands of people every year. He would begin
his speech every year with the posuk, Sakoso leroshi beyom
noshek -- [You Hashem] have screened my head in the day
of battle (Tehillim 140:8). This posuk was
mentioned by the Rov in his opening speeches of the Yarchei
Kalla.
Each year dozens of perushim were said on this
posuk, which became a kind of memorial to the
initiator of the Yarchei Kalla.
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