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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
Part One
Introduction
He wrote: " `A tzaddik rules with the fear of G-d' --
his rule is not that of a human being but the rule of the
fear of Heaven. This is the inner characteristic of the
Chosen People. Even if a Jew and a gentile reach the same
level of recognition of G-d, there is still a vast gulf
between them, that puts them in different classes, obligating
us to have a new standard of conduct" (Toras
Avrohom).
When the Chofetz Chaim encountered the mature Rav Avrohom,
whom he had known as a youngster, and observed what he had
developed into under the tutelage of the Alter of Slobodka,
he remarked, "I write seforim, while the Alter creates
people!"
From his younger years as a paragon of Slobodka
mussar, working alongside the Alter and ultimately
becoming mashgiach after his departure for Eretz
Yisroel, to his martyrdom in the Kovno ghetto, Rav Avrohom
symbolized what mussar could turn a person into and
showed the heights it could allow him to reach.
His brother-in-law Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt'l, once
commented, "When Rav Avrohom died, mussar died with
him."
His Unique Creativity
"The title gaon is bestowed upon a scholar who
displays exceptional knowledge of sugyos of
gemora. A scholar who is proficient in those
sugyos that deal with yiras Shomayim deserves
the same title. The gaon and martyr Rav Avrohom
Grodzensky zt'l, Hy'd, was such a figure" (from an
article by his talmid Rabbi Dov Katz zt'l in
Hatevunah).
In many of his essays, Rav Avrohom notes a narrowing in what
is perceived as halochoh [as referring only to the rules that
govern tangible actions]. The consequence of this is that
many fundamental halochos [concerning the less
tangible but no less binding duties of thoughts and emotions]
are transferred to the realm of aggodoh [where they
are seen as recommendations, rather than obligations].
He undertook to remove this confusion and restore Torah's
wholeness by placing all its subdivisions on an equal
footing. In this he was unique. He possessed great
creativity.
When he spoke, he was able to convey not just a single
thought or idea but a full and systematic approach to his
topic. Sometimes it could take him months to deal with a
subject, in the course of which he conveyed wonderful new
insights, like a master scholar in other branches of
Torah.
His Mentor
Rav Avrohom derived the backbone of his mussar outlook
from the Alter of Slobodka, HaRav Nosson Tzvi Finkel
zt'l. His view of life was thus based upon his
understanding of man's innate greatness, by virtue of his
being formed in the Divine image.
He always remained very close to the Alter and to his ideas.
When the Alter passed away in Chevron (on the twenty-ninth of
Shevat 5687 [1927]) while Rav Avrohom was in Slobodka,
Lithuania, he expressed his feelings in a letter to his
nephew Avrohom Pinchos Grodzensky.
"I very much wanted to come to Eretz Yisroel while our master
and teacher -- may I atone for his passing -- was living
there, while I could [still] find the true Torah of Eretz
Yisroel there, [gleaned] from the pattern of his life and the
individual and collective guidance that he gave. Perhaps [I
could also have learned something], either much or a little,
from his way of thinking, which I have not hitherto been
fortunate to hear anything about. Now Eretz Yisroel has
returned to its desolation . . . everything, but everything,
is now behind us . . . I sincerely regret having left the
source of living waters for a year-and-a- half and not having
come for at least a month, especially during the new epoch in
his life, in the Holy Land."
Masterful Insight
For his part, the Alter commented about Rav Avrohom, "His
keenness has stood him in good stead." His sharpness and
insight added dimension to his wisdom and his personality.
Indeed, one of the contributory factors to Rav Avrohom's keen
mussar awareness was his profound grasp of human
character. It became apparent to him that a person cannot
properly fulfill the Torah or develop a rounded and stable
personality unless he is fully equipped to understand himself
and others. A great psychologist who met Rav Avrohom remarked
that he was capable of being one of the leading figures in
the world in his field. We can reach the same conclusion
independently by studying his profound shmuessen which
have been published in Toras Avrohom.
In writing about The Wisdom of Mussar, for example, he
identifies three areas of attention: acquaintance with the
world so that a person can interact with others, awareness of
the strengths of human character and adopting strategies for
fulfilling the Torah.
He would penetrate to the heart of the thoughts and feelings
of his talmidim, who had wondrous things to say about
their conversations with him. It was known in Slobodka that
when there were particular difficulties and complications
with a talmid, the Alter would refer the case to the
mashgiach Rav Avrohom, whose expert approach would
invariably guide the faltering youth squarely back on the
path to knowledge and self-improvement.
Suffused With Feeling
"The only thing to do", wrote Rav Avrohom in one of his
essays, "is to arouse our feelings; to find the important
things whose power keeps life within us. If we arouse our
emotions with feeling for these great things, then we will
slowly but surely also feel the little things in our daily
lives."
The following story illustrates how Rav Avrohom implemented
this approach. Rav Avrohom demanded that talmidim feel
the yeshiva to be their home in every way. A young
talmid came to Slobodka from Yerushalayim and still
felt himself a Yerushalmi. Rav Avrohom noticed this and bided
his time.
On Yom Kippur before Ne'iloh, Rav Avrohom called this
talmid over and asked him, "When confessing `We have
mocked' (Latznu) in the course of this holy day, what
did you have in mind?"
The talmid replied, "I thought about the fact that the
class of mockers do not encounter Hashem's Shechinoh;
I thought `We have mocked' by neglecting divrei
Torah."
Rav Avrohom told him, "I mean real mockery. If hearing
shmuessen all through Elul in yeshiva doesn't change a
talmid in the slightest, that's mockery!"
The talmid got the message. After Yom Kippur he took
himself to the Kovno beis hamussar and learned
mussar with deep feeling, until he resolved to stay on
in Slobodka. On Simchas Torah, Rav Avrohom honored him with
leading ma'ariv, demonstrating that he was a full
ben yeshiva and that he now kept yom tov
sheini. This talmid went on to become one of the
greatest ba'alei mussar and mashgichim of his
generation.
His Delicacy of Feeling
Rav Isaac Sher once suffered a heart attack. Rav Avrohom was
also ill at the time. He asked one of his close
talmidim to write a letter to Chevron, where the
yeshiva was at that time in Eretz Yisroel, requesting that a
minyan of bochurim travel to pray at the
Kosel for their recovery. Before sending the letter,
the talmid showed it to Rav Avrohom, who rebuked him.
"In parshas Beha'alosecho, the Torah writes two
nunin in order to separate one episode of punishment
from another (Shabbos 116), yet in one breath you
write about two sick roshei yeshiva!"
Rav Avrohom once had to travel to his hometown Warsaw for a
day. He wanted to meet his uncle Rav Shlomo (who headed
Yeshivas Toras Chesed in Lodzh), who lived there. He gave
instructions for a telegram to be sent to his uncle, giving
the date that he would be in Warsaw and saying that he would
very much like to see him. However, he said that the telegram
should not be signed. When asked why, he explained with
characteristic originality and pleasantness that this was the
halochoh.
Chazal, he said, explain that the first Luchos were
written in the singular so as to allow Moshe Rabbenu to
defend bnei Yisroel after they made the eigel
by arguing that they were addressed only to him and only he
had been commanded to do the mitzvos that were written on
them. We see that it is one of Hakodosh Boruch Hu's
characteristics to leave some room in the language of His
commandments for defending failure to observe them. We learn
from this that when requesting something from another person,
one must not push his back to the wall and leave him no
alternative but to agree. We should always leave a way out,
so that if necessary he can excuse himself from the task.
By not signing the telegram, Rav Avrohom ensured that if he
was unable to meet him, it would not be difficult for his
uncle to ignore the request.
Rav Avrohom would sometimes devote a long time to fully
clarifying all the details of a specific halochoh or custom
according to every opinion and stringency. For example
Slobodka thought laid great stress upon fulfilling the
mitzvah to "follow Hashem's ways" and to emulate Him in His
dealings with His creations. He is merciful and deals kindly
and we must be the same.
Rav Avrohom divined how others were feeling and made every
effort to benefit them and bring them pleasure and
satisfaction, according to their circumstances. He was an
expert at participating in others' joys and sorrows.
Even when others were suffering, he looked for the aspect of
their situation that would allow them to feel slightly more
at ease with their pain. When they rejoiced, he rejoiced with
them.
One well-known story concerns the time Rav Avrohom was away
when a talmid was getting married. He kept track of
the time of the wedding and began to dance and rejoice where
he was. He truly felt the talmid's joy, whether or not
he was with him.
After the Alter's petiroh, his talmidim found
the letters nun- ches-beis-heh written with his
personal undertakings. Nobody knew what they meant until Rav
Avrohom solved the mystery, revealing that they were the
initials of the phrase nosnim chitosom be'eretz
hachaim (imposing their fear in the land of the living).
The Alter had been concerned not to derive the slightest
personal gratification from the steps he took to ensure that
his talmidim held him in the proper awe and respect.
Only Rav Avrohom, who was so like him in his empathy for
others, was able to divine the abbreviation's meaning.
Strength of Character
Rav Avrohom was as powerful a mussar character as he
was a mussar scholar. From his youth he waged a battle
against the pull of the yetzer hora, examining each,
wish and desire and not resolving to act one way or the other
unless he was sure that his self-control would in any event
emerge victorious.
The Alter said of him that he had "acquired mussar [by
paying] with his blood." He worked on every aspect of his
character and, with iron will, had mastered every trait.
Rav Avrohom's talmidim asked the Alter what was so
special about their rebbe, when other colleagues of
his had also attained similar levels of self-control. He
answered, "Rav Avrohom overcame all his [natural] traits
without the sound of his smashing them being audible far
away!"
His struggles were not always noticeable externally but he
drew upon the reservoirs of strength that he had amassed to
maintain his firm views on every aspect of life and his solid
and deliberate approach that nothing could sway him from
following. One glance at his regal, upright and sturdy figure
was enough to show that he was hewn from steadfast rock.
He would hold himself in check and maintain the regimen of
Torah and mussar study that he had determined for
himself. At times, he would stand for long hours learning
without allowing the severe pains from his bad leg -- from
which he suffered throughout his life -- to disturb him. He
scarcely acknowledged the pain, containing any discomfort
that he might have been feeling. He continued his service in
complete tranquility, his smile never leaving his lips.
His talmidim would relate incidents from the First
World War when the yeshiva moved from one place to another,
that showed how Rav Avrohom carried himself with superhuman
strength, not allowing any personal or collective problems
and difficulties to get the better of him.
In the Face of Adversity
Rav Avrohom's wife a'h passed away at a relatively
young age, leaving him with eight young orphans. He did not
give way, even at such a time. For two days he felt unable to
accept the decree fully enough to make the blessing Dayan
ho'Emmes wholeheartedly. After that he overcame his grief
and said the blessing with the joy of acceptance of Divine
justice, as halochoh requires.
During the shivah, a talmid came in and
informed him that he had obtained an exemption from the army.
Rav Avrohom got up and kissed him and fully participated in
his joy. Nobody who saw him in those moments could have
guessed the dimensions of the sorrow that filled his
heart.
A long time after his wife's passing, he referred to it in a
letter to his nephew Avrohom Pinchos as being "a tear that
has not been repaired . . . Ten years have already gone by
and it is impossible to speak of it as something in the
past!"
In a shmuess in the yeshiva he once said, "When a
person dies young and leaves behind orphans, everyone says,
`Poor things! What will happen to the children?' but this is
heresy! Now they have more of a Father than they had before.
Hakodosh Boruch Hu, the Father of orphans, is their
Father!"
As Heard from Rav Avrohom
Here are some of the things that one of Rav Avrohom's
talmidim, HaRav Moshe Tikochinsky zt'l who
served as mashgiach of Yeshivas Slobodka in Bnei Brak,
said over.
A distraught Jew once came to plead with Rav Yisroel Salanter
zt'l about the health of his only son. Rav Yisroel's
talmidim were tending the victims of a cholera
epidemic at considerable risk to their own health and the
man's son was with them. He begged Rav Yisroel to instruct
his son to desist for, if any harm were chas vesholom
to befall him, he, the father, would be left childless. Rav
Yisroel's response was, "If you'd like me to swear that
nothing will happen to him, I'll swear!"
*
While a father feels anger over his son's shortcoming, he may
not hit his son. The blows are motivated by anger, not by
kindness towards his son. Only if the father's anger stems
wholly from love and devotion can he give reproof while he is
angry.
*
Rav Avrohom taught that gratitude is not confined to
returning a kind deed to someone who has helped us.
Essentially, it is the simple acknowledgement that we have
received a favor from the other person. A consequence of this
will be our devotion to our benefactor's welfare.
*
He also maintained that the dangers of laziness outweigh
those of any other type of shortcoming. All other impulses,
even negative ones, are active in nature, while laziness is
passive, negating and preventing the implementation of the
powers of intellect and character that a person needs for his
advancement and self perfection.
Rav Tikochinsky related that when the last time for Krias
Shema was early, pesukei dezimroh were said
hurriedly in order to reach Shema in time. Rav Avrohom
said that when this happened, extra time should be spent on
saying the Amidah, to compensate for rushing
pesukei dezimroh.
A learned and devout Jew lived in Warsaw. Reb Itche
Grodzensky was his name. He had no title and held no
position, though he was a talmid chochom of
exceptional stature. The Chofetz Chaim once commented that in
his day, Reb Yitzchok had saved Torah study in Warsaw.
He had come to Warsaw from Lomzheh and before long was
recognized as a man who devoted his life to spreading Torah
and to helping others. On one of the Chofetz Chaim's first
visits to Warsaw, Reb Itche sought him out and asked his
advice. The Chofetz Chaim respected him greatly and
encouraged him to spread Torah, yiras Shomayim and
mussar.
Acting upon this advice, shiurim in Gemora were
opened and a group of bochurim was formed before whom
Reb Itche delivered shiurim. A yeshiva was founded; it
was headed by several maggidei shiur. Following Reb
Itche's example, some of his followers later went out to one
of the city's suburbs to begin shiurim there; the
Chofetz Chaim's Mishnah Berurah and Shemiras
Haloshon featured prominently in the subject matter.
There were learning groups throughout Warsaw that had been
founded either by Reb Itche or by one of his followers. When
he passed away on the twenty-fifth of Sivan 5681 (1921), the
Chofetz Chaim delivered a eulogy -- something he rarely did --
in which he deeply mourned Reb Itche's petiroh. Rav
Isser Zalman Meltzer, zt'l, said that he heard the
Chofetz Chaim say that most of the Torah in Warsaw existed in
Reb Itche's merit.
The Chofetz Chaim was also grateful to Reb Itche for his
hospitality. He eventually repaid this kindness to the
husband of Reb Itche's granddaughter, Rav Yaakov Neiman
zt'l, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Or Yisroel in
Petach Tikva.
Many other great Lithuanian geonim found accommodation
in Reb Itche's home at one time or another. Reb Itche was
also close to the Beis Halevi zt'l. At one time he
baked the Beis Halevi's matzos for him and he accompanied him
when he traveled to take up the rabbonus of Brisk.
Scores of Warsaw's poor and destitute ate at Reb Itche's
table during the week. They always found his door wide open
in welcome. Once Reb Itche gave his bed to a leper whom
nobody else would go near -- according to Rav Yechezkel Sarna
zt'l, he shared the bed with the leper.
Reb Itche's home was a refuge to broken and embittered souls,
to whom he extended the warmth of a friend and brother.
Emotionally unstable folk were also attracted to him. When
hearing another person's troubles, he would sigh and groan in
empathy and extend practical help. His mundane conversation
revolved around arrangements for visiting the sick, marrying
off indigent brides and the like. This was the home into
which Rav Avrohom was born in 5642 (1882).
Rav Avrohom arrived in Slobodka when he was seventeen (5659).
In 5665, Rav Eliezer Gordon zt'l, the Telzer Rosh
Yeshiva, asked the Alter of Slobodka to send him a group of
talmidim to strengthen mussar study in his
yeshiva. Rav Avrohom was one of this group.
When he was twenty-nine, Rav Avrohom married the daughter of
Rav Tzvi Hirsch Heller zt'l, who served as a
mashgiach in Slobodka. In 5684 (1924), he traveled to
Eretz Yisroel with the first group of talmidim to
found the Slobodka yeshiva in Chevron and he was responsible
for the timetable and the regulations that were put into
effect there. Afterwards, he returned to Slobodka upon the
Alter's instructions to assist Rav Isaac Sher zt'l in
running the yeshiva.
Rav Avrohom paid a second visit to Eretz Yisroel in 5695
(1935). He delivered a shmuess in yeshivas Heichal
HaTalmud in Tel Aviv that became a talking point in yeshivos
across the country. He also spoke in kollel Toras
Eretz Yisroel in Petach Tikva. Rav Avrohom returned to
Slobodka, where he remained after the war broke out. He was
murdered on the twenty-second of Tammuz 5704 (1944).
The following is an excerpt from an eyewitness account of
Simchas Torah 5696 (1936) in Yeshivas Knesses Yisroel --
Slobodka, Lithuania, by Rabbi Sholom Teichtel zt'l who
was a talmid in the yeshiva at the time. We have tried
to preserve the lyrical style of the original piece as far as
possible.
"By the time it was all over (the hakofos on Simchas
Torah night), many of those who'd come had already gone home.
The son of our master and teacher . . . Rav Avrohom
Grodzensky came to tell me that the Mashgiach was
inviting me to the evening meal. (It was Rav Avrohom's custom
to remain on Simchas Torah night with a minyan of the
closest bochurim.) As we walked behind the
Mashgiach to his house, the sky glittered with a
myriad shining stars, while the white moon looked
benevolently on.
"Arriving at the Mashgiach's home, the bochurim
gathered around the table. On the large table stood an old,
silver six-armed candelabrum. Rav Avrohom started delivering
a mussar shmuess, portraying the greatness of man in
general and of Yisroel in particular and speaking about
completing the [reading of the] Torah. When he spoke about
the Jewish nation, who tell Hashem, "You have chosen us from
all the nations" (Yom Tov Amidah), we imagined we
could see the Shechinah embracing Knesses
Yisroel, wiping the tears from her eyes and comforting
her, dangling her locks on her cheeks like a compassionate
mother, playing with her gracefully and saying mercifully, "
`I have a precious son, Ephraim, [who is] a child [I delight]
to play with, for whenever I speak about him I continue to
remember him' says Hashem" (Yirmiyohu 31:19).
"When he finished speaking we were in deep silence. Suddenly
the Mashgiach joyfully announced kiddush. His
face shone as though the holiness of the Shechinah
rested on it. He lifted the big silver cup that was filled
with wine and made kiddush. After the meal we danced
for several hours with tremendous enthusiasm.
"I rose from my bed at dawn. Arriving at the beis
hamedrash, I saw that it was full of people, young and
old, like the previous evening. They were standing and
swaying and the sound of their cries of prayer grew louder
and louder. It was a true yom tov pleasure. Every
corner was suffused with a sense of enjoyment and
gratification. A few moments later, I watched as the twenty
best bochurim in the yeshiva carried in our master and
teacher . . . seated on his chair. When they entered the
yeshiva the song, Se'u she'orim rosheichem . . .ve'yovo
Melech hakovod (Tehillim 24:7) was started. The
hakofos followed the same arrangement as the previous
evening, in joy and gladness and the special Yom Tov
mizmor was said."
It is said that Rav Avrohom's talmid HaRav Moshe
Tikochinsky related that Rav Avrohom would dance all the
hakofos on Simchas Torah with a tallis covering
his head.
This is an abbreviated version of one of the shmuessen
that Rav Avrohom delivered to the Slobodka graduates who
learned in the Kovno Kollel. It appears in HaSabo
MiSlobodka, Vol. 126 in the Lebovits-Kest Compact Bnei
Torah Library. It was originally recorded by HaRav Shmuel
Leib Svei zt'l and was given to the publishers by his
son ylct'a HaRav Elya Svei.
A person's natural condition is to have freedom of choice;
this freedom accompanies him all the time. There is no matter
or situation in which he is deprived of it. There is good and
bad in absolutely everything. Yaakov said to Yosef, "Deal
with me in kindness and truth" (Bereishis 47:29).
[Rashi explains] that "the kindness done for the dead is true
kindness, for no reward is expected" but other kinds of
kindness cannot be completely genuine. [Even] Yosef, the
choicest of the tribes, the wise son who was devoted heart
and soul to Yaakov could not hope that any other kindness he
did for his father was genuine. There was always some hope of
reward or of attaining blessing and the like.
. . . Here we see that a person's freedom of choice is a
fact, that is part of how he is made. A good deed done by
even the greatest of the great can be tainted by untoward
elements.
Involvement in Torah study is the pursuit that is supreme in
goodness yet, since man chooses, even there he is not safe
from the taint of the opposite of good. "One who teaches an
unworthy disciple is like someone who throws a stone to
Markulis." If Chazal hadn't used such an expression, we
couldn't have said it. Markulis is a type of idol that is
worshiped by throwing stones at it. Chazal compare Torah
study that is not undertaken in the way that befits it to
such a practice. The Torah becomes the reverse of what it
ought to be chas vesholom.
The Rambam explains that an unworthy disciple is one who
behaves wrongly. Rabbenu Yonah explains that it refers to
faulty character traits. Since his character is unworthy, his
Torah is transformed to the very opposite of what it should
be. "Study is great because it leads to deeds."
This is the basis for the ruling that study is preferential
because to them, it was straightforward that study leads to
deeds. For us, this is by no means a given. The reason for
this is that everything depends on how one approaches
Torah.
If we approached Torah properly, it would be a different
Torah. If we were to approach every step of the discussion
with every detail and stage of the debate as commandments
from Hashem, then it would automatically lead us to practice.
Since we do not approach [Torah] as we should, we are not
safe from failure.
. . . There isn't a single bit of a person's involvement in
Torah, mussar or in ministering to a talmid
chochom who is a mussar scholar -- which is
apparently the most concrete [form of learning] of all and
should be subject to the fewest mistakes -- that he cannot be
mistaken in. A person is never free of his freedom of choice
and he is always in danger of learning the opposite of what
he is supposed to. What makes this so serious is that he
retains his mistakes and remains with a wrong set of ideas
that are the reverse of mussar.
. . . According to what we have explained, a person has a
double task. He must make every effort to seek Torah and
mussar and to seek good friends and a good
environment. To the very same extent, though, he must also
worry and be afraid -- " `Happy is the man who is always
afraid' refers to divrei Torah."
We understand the necessity for fear and concern when someone
leaves an environment of Torah and mussar. In the very
same way, he should also be afraid [even] while he is in an
environment of Torah and mussar -- be it the best and
the greatest -- of being "an unworthy disciple" whose Torah
is chas vesholom transformed into Markulis and becomes
a tool of the Satan.
. . . We can employ our recollections and written records of
the conduct of our master and teacher [the Alter]
zt'l, in his own life and in his attitudes to
everything, that we view as an approach and a path. They can
serve to help us search our ways and examine our conduct and
how we exercise our freedom of choice in mussar and
its implementation.
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