The shiur of HaRav Berish Borenstein, the rov of
Biala, was in full swing in the presence of his great
and learned talmidim. In the corner, the rov's
young son was listening in to the shiur that was
apparently on a level way beyond his years.
Suddenly, the little boy asked a profound question on
the sugya. The talmidim were baffled with
the kushya and in vain groped to find a solution.
Almost immediately little Avrohom gave a clear answer
to his own question, proving in its brilliance that the
kushya was no problem at all.
Striding over to his clever son, the Rov gave him a
light slap on his cheek and sternly told him not to get
accustomed to answer so rashly to questions that great
talmidei chachomim had difficulty solving.
Years later, the Avnei Neizer was at his sick father's
bedside and, to his astonishment, his father Reb Berish
began to beg forgiveness of his son. The father
explained, "When as a small boy you answered your own
difficult question with such ease and speed, I was
afraid that you would take pride in your wisdom,
chas vesholom, so I brushed off your words and
smacked you. However, the truth is that your words were
the Torah's truth and therefore I beg your
mechilah!"
Humbly, the Avnei Neizer replied, "Already at the time
I understood that my answer was correct and your
reaction was for the sake of my chinuch. But
because of the mitzvah of kibbud av I kept
quiet."
At a wedding, a wealthy man came up to the Avnei
Neizer, introducing himself as a former classmate in
cheder. The Rabbi looked him up and down and then
replied, "The difference between us is that you didn't
invest any effort into your Torah learning, preferring
to rely on your sharp mind, whereas I, when I wanted as
a child to learn the `seven types of wisdom,' I
contained my desire and directed my talents into my
Torah learning."
"Once on a Thursday," related the Avnei Neizer, "I
asked my father why he doesn't learn with me the
sugya of shikul hadaas in gemora
Sanhedrin. My father threw the ball into my court,
telling me, `If you want to learn it, who's there to
stop you? Go and learn it on your own!'
"I immediately sat down and began to study the
sugya, continuing all through the night.
Following shacharis the next morning I continued
learning, oblivious to the time that was passing until
my mother called me to say she had already lit the
Shabbos candles. I changed into my Shabbos attire and
after mincha and kabolas Shabbos I had time
until midnight to learn, for that was when my father
was wont to make kiddush. Having finished eating
the seudah, I continued learning until it was
time to daven shacharis.
"During the second Shabbos meal, my father asked me if
I had started learning the sugya. Upon hearing my
positive reply, he asked me if I had been
mechadesh. Again, I answered in the affirmative.
He then started to discuss the sugya, our
pilpul continuing until it was almost
shki'ah: time for mincha and seudah
shelishis. After ma'ariv, we continued
learning again without a break until close to
midnight."
It is no wonder therefore that the Avnei Neizer at the
age of bar mitzva was fluent in Shas Bavli
with all the Tosafos.
After his marriage to the daughter of the holy Rabbi of
Kotsk, the Avnei Neizer stayed with his father-in-law.
Rosh Hashonoh morning in Kotsk brought its usual aura
of holiness. A hush fell over the shul as the
time drew near for Tekiyas Shofar. However, the
Rabbi's place was empty. Time ticked on, yet the
Kotsker was unduly late. Finally, after some time, the
Rabbi entered and tefillos continued as though
nothing was amiss. It was only in the aftermath of Rosh
Hashonoh that someone bold enough asked the reason for
the Rabbi's delay and heard the cause.
During the short break before Tekiyas Shofar, the
Avnei Neizer went into the small room next to the main
beis medrash and became totally absorbed in a
difficult gemora. When the Rebbe, on his way to
Tekiyas Shofar, passed the room and noticed his
son-in-law in a world of his own with the sugya,
he stood next to him watching and waiting until he
finished. Somewhere in his subconscious mind, the Avnei
Neizer noticed he had company and was startled to see
the Rebbe himself observing him. He wanted to stop
immediately, but the Kotsker urged him, "Continue
learning until you've finished and you'll thereby
confuse the Soton so that our shofar
blowing will have its desired effect!"
The Avnei Neizer expended great effort into lowering
himself to the level of the talmidim who learned
his shiur. His powerful brain was continuously
churning out new chiddushim at a speed that they
would have been incapable of grasping. Since he felt it
was his mitzvah to teach them he refrained from saying
all his thoughts so that his talmidim would
understand.
On one occasion when he was asked to slow down a little
so that his students could fully comprehend the
shiur, he said that before every word emanates
from his lips there occur to him twenty possible words
in his mind. As it is he is finding great difficulty in
condensing his words and thoughts. To condense them
even more was beyond his ability.
With mounting excitement, the town of Sochatchov
prepared itself for the arrival of their new rov, the
Avnei Neizer. A day before he was due to take on his
leadership, HaRav Chaim Elozor Wachs zt"l author
of Nefesh Chayoh, came to Sochatchov and gave a
public drosho. Before finishing, he told the
townspeople:
"I want you to know that receiving this new rov of
yours is as though you are standing round Har Sinai and
receiving the Torah itself. Each one of you must accept
the Rov upon himself and make sure to honor him like
the honor and respect due to a sefer Torah!"
When the Rebbe of Alexander zt"l was ill, the
Avnei Neizer went to visit him and was concerned to
hear the sick Rebbe let out a sorrowful sigh upon his
entry. The Alexander Rebbe explained that his sigh was
not an expression of his physical pain, but, "When I
saw the honorable Rebbe the Avnei Neizer at my door, I
realized perhaps I am causing a sefer Torah to
travel from one place to another needlessly, chas
vesholom, a disgrace to the live sefer Torah
that you are!"
During his final illness, the Avnei Neizer had great
difficulty swallowing food. Seder night came and
he wanted to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzo but
was unable to do so. After a few unsuccessful attempts,
he began to say the Zohar HaKodosh on Achilas
Matzo. As he continued saying the words, his ecstasy
escalated until he ate two kezeisim in one go.
When it came to Shulchan Oreich his family,
thinking that he had recovered, served him the yom
tov fish. However, try as he might, he was unable to
eat it.
The Avnei Neizer: HaRav Avrohom Borenstein, zt"l, of
Sochatchov