Rabbeinu Pinchos Halevi was the son of Rabbi Zvi, rov
of Tchortkov.
When he was a young child, his mother would claim that
she had two sons, Pinchos and Shmelke (later Rabbi
Shmelke of Nicholsburg), who never washed netilas
yodayim in the morning and never said Krias Shema
al Hamitoh, alluding to the fact that they both
learned all through the nights as well as the days,
never lying down in bed to sleep.
Rabbi Pinchos' diligence continued unabated as he grew
from a youth into a young man and then became rov in
various cities.
Even towards the end of his days, while serving as rov
in Frankfurt-am-Main (then one of the major Torah
communities of Europe), he was particular not to waste
time that could be used for Torah learning. In fact, he
would often go over to Reb Nosson Adler, who was also
residing in Frankfurt-am-Main at the time, to talk in
Torah.
Once, R' Nosson Adler asked Rabbi Pinchos why he
bothered each time to come to him. "You could just send
a talmid to call me and I would come running to
the king's beckoning." However, the Haflo'oh preferred
to come personally, for that would save him the few
seconds it takes to instruct someone to go, precious
seconds that he could better use for Torah study. This
story is related to us by the holy talmid of both
rabbis, Maran the Chasam Sofer, zy"a.
All his adult days, Rabbi Pinchos taught Torah to
erudite, scholarly talmidim. It is told that he
would sprinkle spices and flowers in the beis
medrash before learning, to calm and open his
students' minds. Great people have given another reason
for this custom. When the Haflo'oh began learning, the
gates of Gan Eden would open, emitting a
wonderfully pleasant smell, that wafted through the
beis medrash. Rabbi Pinchos would cover up this
fact by spreading the scent of spices and flowers in
advance.
No doubt his greatest talmid was the holy Chasam
Sofer, as HaRav Efraim Zalman Margulies, zt"l,
wrote in the introduction to Ponim Yofos of the
Haflo'oh. "His great talmidim filled the world
with their wisdom and Torah."
Rabbi Shimon Sofer Hy"d, rov of Erlau, recounted
in the name of his father, the Ksav Sofer zt"l,
that whenever the Chasam Sofer would even mention his
rebbe the Haflo'oh, his whole body would tremble and
his face became contorted in fear of his teacher. The
Chasam Sofer himself said that he suffered all his life
from an intestinal illness due to the times when his
insides churned in fear as he stood before his Rebbe to
learn Torah from his holy mouth.
On one occasion, the Chasam Sofer remarked to his
talmidim that he wonders how anyone who saw the
faces of his rebbes, the Haflo'oh and Rabbi Nosson
Adler, could continue to survive in such a spiritually
impoverished generation. He then added, "I cleaved to
my teachers day and night, for a talmid doesn't
merely learn the Torah of his rebbe, but observes his
behavior twenty-four hours a day, taking lessons from
every nuance of his teacher. I was fortunate to have
such a great rov, but whom do you have to follow in
this manner?"
Before the Haflo'oh became rov in Frankfurt-am-Main, he
presided in the rabbinate of the city of Lechovitz.
While there, he once had to be the deciding judge in a
din Torah between a widow and a townsman. The
latter was a wealthy, influential individual whom all
the city feared to provoke in the least, lest he wield
his powers and cause them trouble.
Rabbeinu, however, did not balk at the sight of the man
and went through the proceedings of the court case
without deference to anyone. It turned out that the
psak was in favor of the widow. Furious, the
other defendant told slanderous tales about the
Haflo'oh to the governor, forcing Rabbeinu to flee the
city.
He found refuge in the city Yanpele, where he became
acquainted with its rov, HaRav Mordechai Zeev
Orenstein. They would spend many hours in each other's
company, talking in learning.
One day the Rov entered Rabbi Pinchos' house and
noticed how his rebbetzin was doing all the household
chores without any domestic help at all. From that day
on, he sent half of his wages in to the Haflo'oh every
week.
Subsequently, Rabbi Pinchos was appointed rov in
Frankfurt-am-Main. The finishing touches for a grand
reception were carried out with feverish excitement, as
the entire kehilloh anticipated the arrival of
their new rov. All was finally set as two distinguished
talmidei chachomim were dispatched in a carriage
decorated with gold and silver to accompany the
Haflo'oh into town.
As the carriage neared the city, all the townspeople
came out and followed behind in a joyous parade.
Suddenly within the carriage, the two talmidei
chachomim accompanying their new rov were startled
to notice that Rabbi Pinchos Horowitz was crying. On
such a joyous occasion with singing and gladness
reverberating all around, why the copious tears?
Rabbeinu revealed to them his feelings, the reason for
his reaction. "I'm just imagining now a similar journey
that I am to take in the future, when my days will come
to an end and these very same people will accompany me
on my final journey. What is all this honor worth?"
In his old age, Rabbeinu suffered from cataracts, and
the doctors wished to operate on his eyes. The
Haflo'oh, however, only agreed to have one eye treated,
explaining, "In truth, in order to live, one doesn't
need eyes at all, except for learning Torah. If so, one
eye is enough to enable me to see my seforim and
study from them."
The Chasam Sofer was wont to say that when his eyes
were weakened, all the others limbs and organs of the
Haflo'oh were strengthened as compensation, and this is
why towards his last months, his wisdom and sharp mind
were even greater than previously!
The Haflo'oh, HaRav Rabbi Pinchos Halevi Horowitz, zt"l