They bake matzos mitzva on Erev Pesach in
Volozhin. A festive atmosphere prevails. The entire baking
process takes only about half an hour, and only the
choshuva people are involved. Maran the Netziv
himself, suffused with joy, glowing with holiness, pours the
water into the basin and the elite yeshiva students do the
kneading, rolling out of the dough, and the baking.
That half-hour of being involved in the matzo baking seems as
if they are verily bringing the Pesach sacrifice in the
Beis Hamikdosh. One hands to his neighbor, and the
latter passes on to the next in line, and so on down the
line, everyone rejoicing together while singing praises and
thanks to Hashem, the Redeemer of Israel, from the bottom of
their hearts.
* On the Seder night, everyone, with no exception, was
invited to participate in the Seder at the home of the Netziv
ztvk'l. They would forgo the trip home to be with
their parents at this yom tov for the sake of
attending the Seder by the Netziv. One can only attempt to
envision the scene of hundreds of people seated around tables
and Maran the Netziv conducting the Seder, which would extend
for six or seven hours.
The Netziv would read the Haggadah and explain it. These
comments were later published in the Imrei Shefer
Haggadah. But as fine and wonderful as that Haggadah is,
it cannot begin to compare with the mighty impact made by the
Seder itself when those pearls were expressed by his holy
mouth.
At two or three in the morning on the first Seder night, and
at four on the following night, it was finally concluded. And
then the participants would break out in dance. A select
group would encircle the Netziv amidst song and rhymes. Those
verses of the Seder night excelled in a show of tremendous
knowledge through the intertwining of teachings of Chazal,
midroshim and verses from Shir Hashirim.
At the conclusion of the second Seder, all would leave the
table and go to recite the vosikin prayers. (from
Lamoed — Jerusalem 5706)
In Volozhin At its Prime
The Seder which was held in Yeshiva Maltesh was especially
famous. It was splendid and grand. All the yeshiva students
were invited to the Rosh Yeshiva's house and when they got to
the end, to Chassal Siddur Pesach, they would sing it
with the traditional melody which was purported to have been
sung by R' Chaim of Volozhin.
R' Z.S. himself had a beautiful voice. He was a musical
genius and composed many tunes which became famous throughout
the yeshiva world. To this day, some are still being sung and
appreciated. On yomim tovim, when the Rosh Yeshiva's
house and the yeshiva itself were thronged with crowds, they
would sing the tunes which he had composed. Most famous is
the melody of the piyut which is said between Pesach
and Shavuos, Yonah, Ya'alas Chen... He composed the
tune to this when he was very young, and when he sang it
before the Beis Halevi, R' Yosef Dov Ber was moved to
tears. Also famous was his rendition of R' Shlomo Ibn
Gvirol's poem- prayer, Achula shekulo, lomo sivki...
The tune he composed for the Yomim Noraim prayer,
"Shimcho mei'olom oveir al pesha," was sung with
extreme devotion, and the Mashgiach Ruchani would beg
the students to sing it over and over. Between the
repetitions, he would interweave deep Mussar ideas.
(Chidushei HaGaon R' Z.S.)
Mei'ein Olom Habo
The Mashgiach of Lomzha, HaGaon R' Moshe Rosenstein
zt'l, used to say: If someone wishes to know what his
portion will be in Olom Habo, he should look into his
own soul and see if he feels holiness in this world. That is,
if he feels holiness on Shabbos, on yom tov, about
Eretz Yisroel. If someone experiences the bliss of mei'ein
Olom Habo in this world, it is a sign that his soul is
pure and cleansed from sin. That selfsame feeling he
experiences in this world is a foretaste of what will be in
the World to Come.
Those who were close to him, including his students, who saw
how he would immerse himself in sanctity of Shabbos and
yom tov, knew what it meant to "Prepare yourself to
stand before the Presence of your G-d, O Israel." And whoever
did not hear him recite the Hallel on festivals with
sweet melody and an outpouring of the soul, could not say
that he had ever known the true flavor of Hallel or
prayer, at all. He was altogether suffused with holiness and
soulfulness.
His joy and exuberance were most marked during the Festivals.
He would dance and prance joyfully with the yeshiva students
and they could not help but witness the exaltation and
exultation of his soul during these times. During the
Simchas Beis Hashoeva, he was in the practice of
saying: "Even though we lack, and cannot hope to attain, that
degree of ruach hakodesh which was experienced during
the genuine Simchas Beis Hashoeva, still, we can hope
to draw down some of that Divine Inspiration in these times,
too." (Ahavas Meishorim)
From Chanukah, He Would Already Think About Pesach
I heard from Morenu HaGaon R' M. D. Soloveitchik
shlita that in the winter of 5700, from Chanukah
onward, Maran R' Yitzchok Zev ztvk'l would already be
thinking about the upcoming Pesach, and about how he would go
about baking hand- matzos — for in Vilna everyone ate
machine matzos whereas R' Yitzchok Zev would eat only hand-
baked matzos. Maran did not want to discuss this with the R'
Chaim Ozer so as not to detract from his honor, but waited
patiently until the proper time came.
It was in the middle of Shvat that R' Yitzchok Zev had to
visit R' Chaim Ozer for a particular matter that needed
attention. It did not dawn on him to broach the subject of
matzos but suddenly, in the midst of their conversation, R'
Chaim Ozer turned to him and said, "Pesach is soon upon us.
The time has come to start thinking about matzos, and you
only eat hand-baked matzos, whereas here in Vilna, we all eat
machine matzos. You will have to see to this yourself." He
then advised him to seek out an old bakery situated at the
end of a certain street which had stood in disuse for many
years. "Go there," he advised, "and examine its
possibilities. See if you can clean it up and prepare it
sufficiently for matzo baking."
Maran, who had been concerned about his matzos for a long
time already, was very happy to hear this piece of advice,
and in the end everything worked out very well. (Gibor
Lador)
"And After Your Commandments Does My Soul Rush
The Admor R' Chaim Meir Hagar zt'l of Vishnitz would
await the Seder night with fervent expectancy. A long time
before Pesach, he would already speak longingly about the
Seder night and the mitzvos surrounding it. From as early as
Lag B'omer, when he went to visit the gravesite of Rashbi in
Meiron, he would pray and mention himself, "Chaim Meir ben
Hinda — would that in the merit of the holy Tana R'
Shimon Bar Yochai that I be deemed worthy of fulfilling the
commandment of matzo properly, and that I be privileged in
the coming year to eat of the zevochim and
pesochim sacrifices whose blood shall be sprinkled
upon the walls of Your altar to Your pleasure."
As the festival drew nearer and nearer, so did his longing
and yearning increase and wax. Once, after having recited the
blessing over the new moon of Nisan, he turned to one of his
entourage and said, "There are only 168 hours left until the
eating of the kezayis matzo." And when he finished
holding his tish on Shabbos Hagodol, he expressed
himself, "In another seventy-two hours I will, please G-d, be
eating the kezayis matzo."
Once on Erev Pesach, after having baked the matzos for the
Seder, he suddenly became very pensive, "A trembling seizes
me. The holy Seder is approaching and I have not prepared
myself sufficiently for it." A moment later, he added calmly,
"In one thing, however, I have prepared myself. I distributed
money to the poor; I saw to it that they, too, have a
lichtige Seder!"
He would question those who came to him before the festival,
"How are you spiritually prepared for Pesach? Where are you
`holding'? Have you already kashered all your
spiritual vessels? Have you truly scraped off all the
rust?"
When, in 5710, Erev Pesach fell on Shabbos, he sat alert and
waiting all that Shabbos in anticipation of the Seder. On
motzei Shabbos, when they set the table for the Seder
in full haste, R' Chaim Meir's spirit blazed within him and
he exclaimed, "My skin is burning from tension and you take
your time?" The young boys tried to work even faster but in
the end, before they had a chance to finish, the Admor sat
himself down at the table and began holding the Seder.
(Ner HaChaim)
Don't Stop Midway
On Shvi'i Shel Pesach, the chassidim of the Beis
Yisroel of Ger would dance around the beis medrash,
singing, as was the custom, "Hama'avir bonov bein gizrei
Yam Suf... shivchu vehodu liShmo." The Beis Yisroel
listened to the singing and said in surprise, "Why did you
stop here?" He meant to indicate that they should have
included the following verse in their singing: "And His
Kingship did they willingly assume upon them!" (Pe'er
Yisroel)
A Longing to Fulfill the Mitzva of Morror
In Kislev of 5723, the Vishnitzer Rebbe R' Chaim Meir
zt'l, suffered a stroke which left him partially
paralyzed. His doctors said that the only thing that could
help him recuperate was strict bedrest. The Rebbe was
hospitalized for five weeks, after which he went to
recuperate by his son-in-law, R' Moshe Ernster shlita,
where he continued to lie and rest. Slowly, his strength
returned to him and he felt the weak side of his body
gradually coming back to him. By Purim he was well enough to
return home in an improved condition.
Pesach was approaching, and the Rebbe was determined to hold
the Seder with his chassidim. He was provided with specially
made grape juice instead of wine and his family tried to
convince him to substitute lettuce for the harsh horseradish
for morror. But in this thing he was adamant: he was
determined to eat horseradish, which Chazal term as `sweet'.
He wished to keep this mitzva in the proper fashion.
His family and followers began arguing with him, but to no
avail. He was not even prepared to obey the strict
instructions of his physician, Dr. Frei, who forbade him in
no uncertain terms to eat horseradish since he insisted that
it was dangerous for his brain. The doctor finally referred
him to a specialist. In order to receive medical permission
to eat it, the Rebbe would have to tell the specialist face
to face that the horseradish was not bitter for him; on the
contrary, it was inexpressibly sweet for him and would surely
do him no harm.
And so it was. The specialist was happy to meet the Rebbe and
found him in good physical condition. Seated in an armchair,
the Rebbe proceeded to explain to him the significance of the
mitzva of morror, and how sweet it was to fulfill this
commandment since he had been waiting to do so for a whole
year. The Rebbe became so emotional in his explanation that
he was on the verge of tears. He seemed to be truly preparing
himself for the Seder night, for which he longed with all his
heart and soul.
The specialist could not help but being deeply moved and
affected. He saw before him a holy man who burned with holy
desire, who could not wait for that special moment, which he
had been anticipating for so long. And despite the doctor's
being far removed from Jewish practice, he listened
spellbound, without interrupting with questions.
When the Rebbe had finished presenting his plea and had
calmed down somewhat from the emotional effort, the doctor
began to reply with great deference. "Allow me, honored
rabbi, to say something. I understand your strong yearning to
fulfill that commandment. But who, better than you, can
understand that not everything which one wants to do —
one may do, especially in the state of health which you find
yourself. You are after a serious illness and I don't want to
go into the details of what is liable to happen to you..."
This explanation was acceptable to the Rebbe for it spoke his
language and the Rebbe accepted it with resignation. He
wished him a Happy Holiday and made peace with the situation.
And no longer did he express a wish to eat real morror
that year... (Ezkero Yomim)
