Part II
This is the second part of an interview with HaRav Tzvi
Markowitz that took place before Pesach of last year. HaRav
Markowitz is the rosh yeshiva of the Karlin yeshiva, a
member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Degel Hatorah and
one of the senior gedolei Torah in Eretz
Yisroel.
In the first part of the interview, HaRav Markowitz spoke
mostly about the integrity of the mesorah and how we
can know that we have essentially the same Torah as our
forefathers had. He noted that all our Torah comes through
the Vilna Gaon, who is therefore its guarantor. He also said
that gedolim are specifically concerned with ensuring
that Torah is transmitted properly and mentioned especially
the Chazon Ish in this capacity in Eretz Yisroel.
Acquiring an Extensive Knowledge of Shas
It should be pointed out that even someone with the right
derech halimud must remember to do his best to cover a
lot of ground and Rav Shach ztv"l already protested
very much about this!
A talmid once asked me in amazement: "Is it really
true? How can you learn so quickly? Did people really learn
at this pace in the past?"
That bochur, who excelled in his studies, was sure
that what he had been told about how much was learned in
Yeshivas, about 50-60 daf being covered in one
zman, was an exaggeration. I told him that was really
how they always learned, that there was nothing exaggerated
about the protests of Rav Shach ztv"l and that Rav
Shimon Shkop ztv"l told us that even more material
should be covered.
Especially in kollelim, they should deal with this
issue of the scope of learning and acquiring an extensive
knowledge of Shas.
Rav Shimon in his shiurim went deep into the
masechta, saying shiurim straight through and
even reaching Habo al yevimto (the sixth perek
of Yevomos that begins on daf 53) and in
Bovo Metzia getting up to perek Hazohov, the
fourth perek that beings on daf 44. (At this
point HaRav Markowitz recalls Rav Shimon's question at the
beginning of the first shiur on Perek
Hazohov).
Once when Rav Shimon was telling the talmidim about
the need to learn more, he added with a smile: "Throughout
Shas, Tosafos consistently ask "teimoh," but
which is still followed by another Tosafos, thus
demonstrating that [even] after the teimoh, the
Tosafos continued learning."
When learning a sugya if there are problems, then we
just have to have a clear idea of what is difficult and why,
and when matters have become clarified we have to move on.
*
We asked Rav Markowitz about his first period in yeshiva:
We learned the gemora with a chavrusa with a
view to understanding gemora, Rashi, Tosafos, the
sugya on its own [without other commentaries]. Later
on the same day we learnt the same daf and
sugya again, more be'iyun, with a different
chavrusa (i.e. Lemigmar vehodor lisbar).
Nowadays, right at the beginning of the limud people
start looking [around for chiddushim and at the
commentaries] and only manage a little . . . In the afternoon
they learn bekius from another part of the
masechta. This is not how we learned.
I should point out that a bochur who was a
shakdan would take a certain subject in which he was
engrossed and study it more and more during the remaining
hours, making a note of his chiddushim. But this
naturally did not prevent him from progressing with the rest
of the masechta. Nowadays young bochurim want
to take every line of the gemora and dwell on it like
that same topic which this bochur decided to learn
be'iyun.
At the beginning of the masechta they go deeply into
matters related to sugyos that appear several
dapim later, without having learned the gemora
inside.
When I noticed this phenomenon, I introduced the practice at
the yeshiva in which I serve that right at the beginning of
the zman everybody should learn bebekius all
those dapim that are subsequently planned to be
learned be'iyun [that zman] and acquire a sound
grasp of all the concepts. In other words, even the little
that they learn should [at least] be lemigmar vehodor
lisbar.
Of course, if we want to grow, we must learn more. That is
the path that will ensure fundamental success in
understanding Torah and, unfortunately, the understanding of
Torah that comes from knowledge of Torah loses out!
Rav Markowitz adds with a smile:
It is true that, from a certain point of view, learning
slowly be'iyun gives a bochur immediate
pleasure and satisfaction from every line that he learns. He
feels that he has created something deep. The understanding
and chiddushim thus gained give him an additional
taste in limud. But the youngsters have to be reminded
to learn more.
Of course, all this does not affect the general derech
halimud, which remains, as it has always been, with in-
depth havonoh and that is what the Chazon Ish
meant.
Due to the Severe Situation
The rov recalls longingly the distant days of omol
haTorah in the yeshivas of prewar Europe. He raises his
hands and speaks enthusiastically about the ligen in
lernen that he witnessed at that time, giving us some
idea of the shki'us beTorah of the Mirrer Rosh
Yeshiva, HaRav Eliezer Yudel ztv"l, of the deveikus
beTorah with every fiber of their being of his rabbonim
in the Yeshivas, of the ki heim chayeinu and fire of
Torah of HaRav Aharon Kotler ztv"l with whom he
learned in Kletsk for about a month before coming to Eretz
Yisroel: "Ah! You cannot imagine their yegias
haTorah!"
The stories started streaming in, but then the rov suddenly
made a slight pause, and his face took on a sad expression:
"One can talk for hours about these topics, and we shall do
so in the future iy"H, but [and] since Klal
Yisroel is going through a difficult period we have a
duty to speak about these matters" and he went on to talk
about the situation in Eretz Yisroel.
The room in Rechov Adoniyohu Hakohen where we were sitting
assumed an additional atmosphere of public responsibility and
the Rosh Yeshiva spoke very slowly [and deliberately].
We have to consider where we are standing and what we have to
do at this difficult time.
After the churban during World War Two, we witnessed
besiyata deShmaya, the recovery of Klal Yisroel
and of chareidi Jewry headed by the Torah world, which
increased in number in all countries. But unfortunately, the
situation has been deteriorating for quite a while now. We
need not describe the difficult situation itself, since
everyone feels it, Rachmono litzlan. What needs to be
stressed is that our misfortunes are becoming worse all the
time. Ever so often the situation deteriorates further. The
situation does not remain static. Instead events only go from
bad to worse, Rachmono litzlan.
We may get an insight into our situation by consulting the
second part of Shaarei Teshuvoh where Rabbeinu Yonah
says that when a person experiences misfortunes and he does
not repent and mend his ways, his sin is great. If the
misfortunes do not achieve their purpose and the person does
not improve, then they become worse. And that is the meaning
of the pesukim in the tochechoh: "And if you
will walk contrary to Me and will not listen to Me, I will
bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your
sins . . . (Vayikra 26:21)" It is obvious that our
situation requires us to beseech Hashem, pray to Him, and
improve our ways. That is why the gedolim made public
statements telling us to mend our ways. Everybody is
attempting to improve themselves in Torah and good deeds.
What are we obliged to do? We should concentrate especially
on the following matter:
The Torah commanded us to love our neighbor like ourselves.
On the face of it, it would seem superfluous to be told to
love one's friends and relatives. One would rather have
expected a commandment to love those who are distant from
him, why then does the Torah talk of a `neighbor'?
The answer is that, on the contrary, it is very convenient
and easy to love everybody except the ten mosdos to
which one is closest. It does not require much effort to love
a stranger who lives out of town or the residents of the
adjoining street, but in his relationship with those closest
to him a person finds it difficult to desist from jealousy of
his neighbors, anger at members of his family, and to love
his closest friends . . . that is why the posuk
insists on ve'ohavto lerei'acho komocho!
This matter is one of the things that require a lot of
improvement on our part!
Boruch Hashem there is Torah, avodoh and
gemilus chassodim but the ve'ohavto lerei'acho
komocho needs to be improved. They say that Chazal's
statement, "The greater a person, the greater is his
yetzer [hora]" also applies to this mitzvah. The
gemora testifies that during the period of the Second
Beis Hamikdosh there was a lot of Torah, avodoh
and gemilus chassodim, but there was also sin'as
chinom!
On the face of it, it seems difficult to understand how
gemilus chassodim can coexist with sin'as
chinom. But the reality was that although, generally
speaking, people practiced chesed [but] [here and
there] there was hatred [in their hearts] . . . sometimes one
person would do chesed and right next to him another
person would deal in pure sin'as chinom. We must
realize that this yetzer affects everything and all
layers [of society]. It is important to dwell on this
question of why the Second Beis Hamikdosh was
destroyed!
Every one of us has to think about how to improve. Everybody
knows that one has to mend one's ways, but people think that
this improvement has to be made elsewhere, by someone else,
as in the famous story of the person who performed the al
chet by hitting his friend's chest. It is not within your
means to improve another person. Your job is to improve
yourself and the institutions you are responsible for, to put
your own shop in order at home, in the yeshiva and
everywhere.
In bein odom lechavero there are many and varied
details within each character trait, and this [ve'ohavto
lerei'acho komocho] is the determining factor! Therefore,
although we have to make immense efforts to improve our
bein odom lechavero [in general,] this is our great
[specific] responsibility at this time.
It says in the Torah: "You shall not hate your brother in
your heart; you shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not
bear sin because of him" (Vayikra 19:17). What is the
connection between these three matters? Some people engage in
tochochoh to benefit the person being rebuked, but
others do so for the purpose of attacking the other one. [The
latter] is not interested in the success of the bnei
hayeshivos but the opposite. It is about such a one that
the posuk says, "You shall not hate your brother in
your heart." [If you remove this motive from your heart,]
then you will rebuke him and not bear sin because of him.
We must all encourage each other in the areas of bein odom
lechavero and sin'as chinom. Everyone should think
[about] what he sees [going on] around him. We must all
strengthen ourselves in this regard.
End of Part II
