Our meeting took place during the shivoh week, when the feelings of heartbreak and helplessness were at their most acute. Our attempts at evaluating HaRav Shach's life and his leadership were punctuated by outbursts of crying, shedding tears of longing for the light that had dimmed and gone out just a few days before.
At the outset, HaRav Braverman noted the extreme difficulty in arranging thoughts at a time of emotional turmoil. He also pointed out that there were episodes that could not yet be publicized. All we could do would be to cite examples, to try and capture some of the highlights of his half century of association with the Rosh Yeshiva.
To begin with, he said that there were two main features that were especially prominent in the giant mosaic of HaRav Shach's life. First, his tremendous ardor for Torah, which he instilled into his talmidim and which he infused into the yeshiva as a whole. Second, his firm fixture on mussar as one of the linchpins of a ben Torah's life. He never ceased searching for supports for his "demand" for the centrality of mussar, or for seeking the means to strengthen it, whether in outlook, or in actions. He built almost all his shmuessen around this idea.
HaRav Braverman's recollections are presented here with very little alteration to the conversational style of their delivery.
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