In the Shadow of Rabbenu, the Mashgiach HaRav Yechezkel
Levenstein ztvk'l, whose yahrtzeit is 18 Adar. HaRav
Levenstein was Mashgiach in Mir Yeshiva in Europe and
Shanghai and later in Ponovezh Yeshiva, Bnei Brak.
Cause and Prime Mover
"My strength and the might of my hand have wrought all this .
. ." (Devorim 18:18). But this is the greatness of
Hashem, for He conceals Himself and lets man think he is
running the show. This is what one disciple expounded.
But Maran the Mashgiach ztvk'l later stood up and, in
a talk, vehemently objected to those words. He said: How can
one think that Hashem is hiding? How can he live with such a
thought? How can he attempt to draw closer to Hashem if that
is the case? But if that is the beginning of the verse, there
is an ending to it (19): "You should remember Hashem your G-
d," and "The G-d of Israel succors."
In Brochos, Rabbenu Yonah says: Even if You do hide
Yourself, You are still the G-d of Israel Who performed so
many miracles for them and Who saves them at all times. And
through Your salvation, people become aware of You and You
become revealed to them.
One must live with the knowledge that the G-d of Israel saves
and that this is the way He reveals himself from His hiding
place. This, too, is the secret of the memory of the Exodus,
whose purpose was to banish the hiddenness, the obscurity of
Hashem's Providence in this world, and to bring to life the
knowledge and memory of the G-d of Israel as Savior.
*
"And whoever elaborates on the telling of the Exodus . . . "
(Haggodoh) What more is there to tell than what
actually happened? What can we innovate about an event that
has already passed?
Anyone who ever heard the telling by Rabbenu the Mashgiach,
in detail, depth, with elaboration and vivid description, was
able to see every portion of the story of the Redemption
concretely and graphically, and would verily feel as if he
were going out of Egypt. He would experience every facet of
the many miracles that took place, as if he were a chief
participant. This, essentially, is the mitzva of talking
profusely about the Exodus: To relate what happened, in great
detail, analyzing what happened and what it signified, and to
study the miracles in depth until everything is deeply etched
in one's heart and soul, to become a very part of him and a
foundation in his life.
And when one repeats these things and reviews them many
times, one relives them each time anew with a vivid sense of
actually experiencing it now. And when habit does not rule
over a person to dull his perception, then this reinforcement
is also included in, "whoever increases the relating of the
Exodus is praiseworthy."
Equally included in the telling is to begin at the beginning,
from the sale of Yosef and the descent of Yaakov Ovinu and
his entire family to Egypt. Actually, one can begin from
Sefer Shemos, where every verse tells of great wonders
and miracles. And whoever expounds on this at length is, as
Chazal denote, to be praised.
In Kelm, they added another commentary to this directive.
They inverted it and said that only one who is superior,
meshubach, is capable of doing justice to the story of
the Exodus in detail. And just as it was said, "Who is wise?
One who sees the unborn [what the future holds in store]," so
can it be said, "Who is wise? One who can look back into the
past."
The fool lives only in the present and knows only what his
eyes see before him. But wisdom has the power to elevate a
person, to raise him from the here-and-now and to deposit him
in the past or the future.
Similarly is the verse, "Remember the days of the world,
intuit the years of generation upon generation. Ask your
father and he will inform you, your elders and they will tell
you . . ." (Devorim 32:7)
Rashi comments that they forgot what was done for them.
Hashem is your Father; He created you and established you.
Who is that one who would seek to live constantly with the
great past of yetzi'as Mitzrayim? One who recognizes
the power of the yetzer hora within him, one who works
upon himself and seeks to subdue his evil inclination. One
who wishes to live with the power of the Torah, with the
testimony of the past which it contains, and to elevate
himself with wisdom and to overcome the life of vanity and
foolishness of a treadmill existence.
It can be said that we saw the Mashgiach's greatness as a
pillar of the world in his constant awareness of the Exodus.
He was one who lived with it, and through it. This showed us
to what extent the power of Mussar can reach.
Rabbenu HaRav Ben Zion Bamberger zt'l used to tell
that he was privileged to have free access to the Mashgiach;
he would discuss with him all kinds of matters concerning the
yeshiva.
One time, the Mashgiach interrupted him in midsentence. He
motioned that he stop discussing one particular matter for
fear that it would arouse evil traits that were latent within
him.
At that point, he heard the Mashgiach murmuring to himself,
"Yetzi'as Mitzrayim; Yetzi'as Mitzrayim."
After a pause, he gave a sign that they could continue
discussing the matter. This is how the Mashgiach succeeded in
stifling the upsurge of negative feelings: by reminding
himself of the Exodus.
How rousing was the atmosphere in Yeshivas Ponovezh when
everyone palpably felt that mentioning yetzi'as
Mitzrayim was one of the fundamentals of the Torah, a
pillar of our education and our mission of being worthy of
this G-dly service.
