Biography of Rav Ovadia Yosef

Rav Ovadia Yosef was niftar this past Monday. I spoke to my class today about him as our first biography of the year. It is hard to capture the greatness of a man who was one of the biggest geonim of the generation but was also the greatest civil Rights leader of Israel who tranformed the lives of 50% of the Israeli population who faced discrimination, poverty, hopelessness and spiritual ignorance. Zechuso Yagen Aleinu.

Some videos & Links of Interest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3l-D0yuMV8 Rav Lau (who visited Rochester last year with Rav Ovadia)
4 minutes in the day of rav Ovadia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnEiRlxzjKg
CNN reports on his funeral - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCr525VBpD8
pictures from his life - http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=188831
Pictures from his Funeral - http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/191690/Photo+Essay:+Levayah+of+Maran+HaRav+Ovadia+Yosef+ZATZAL+(Photos+By+Chaim+Schvarcz+&+Yisroel+Baum+-+Kuvien+Images).html

RAV OVADIA YOSEF  (born 1920-2013 )

On the 3^rd of Cheshvan, Rav Ovadia Yosef was niftar. By that evening, over 800,000 people streamed into Yerushalayim for the largest funeral in the history of the State of Israel. 1 in 10 Israelis came to the funeral. There were sefardim, Ashkenazim, rich and poor, religious and secular and the greatest Gedolei Torah and the most unlearned Jewsl. There were so many people that the police warned that the buildings were in danger of collapsing.

What made Rav Ovadia Yosef so loved by so many people that they dropped everything to come to a funeral with only 4 hours notice? The reason they came is because of how much Rav Ovadia had meant to each one of them

Rav Ovadia Yosef was born in Baghdad on September 23, 1920. In 1924 he immigrated to Yerushalayim with his family. His family was very poor. His father was a grocer and worked hard to provide for his family, but they often went hungry.

As a teenager, Rav Ovadia studied at the Porat Yosef Yeshiva. He was in the top class taught by the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Ezra Attiya (1885-1970) a gadol from the Sephardic Jewish world.

Rav Attiya made sure that the young Ovadia would stay in yeshiva. One day, Rav Ovadia stopped coming to yeshiva. Rav Attiya went to his home to find out what happened. The Yosef family was shockingly poor.  R’ Ovadia Yosef's father said that he needed his son to help him in his store. The next morning, the father came to his store and found Rav Attiya there with an apron on. Rav Attiya volunteered to work for free as long as R’ Ovadia could return to yeshiva. “Your son's learning is more important than my time!" Rav Ovadiah Yosef was allowed to return to yeshiva.  

When he was in yeshiva, the dorm counselor noticed that his room always had light coming from the door. Even after all the other students  had gone to sleep, Rav Ovadia kept learning.

When R’ Ovadia was 17, Rav Addia asked him to teach a nightly class in a Persian shul in the Bukaharan Quarter. The people who came were local workers and did not know much Torah. At this time, Sefardim were treated very poorly and were poor and unlearned. They were used to learning a little halacha. Rav Ovadiah Yosef, who was already a Talmid Chacham, taught these people on their level so they would come close to Torah. He wrote that he would study each halacha until he understood it very well. He taught the halacha according to Rav Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulchan Aruch. There, he began a life long mission to “restore the glory of Jewish tradition” to try to have all the Sephardic Jews in Israel follow the halacha according to Rav Yosef Karo.

At the age of 20, he was given semicha to be a Rav.  In 1947,Rav Ovadia Yosef went to Egypt to be a Rebbe in the yeshiva and to be the head of the Beis Din and assistant Chief Rabbi of Egypt. After several years, he returned to Israel.

When Rav Ovadia first got married he was very poor. His wife had worked to put aside money to buy a closet where they could store their clothes. One day, he mentioned to his wife how he had written a sefer. She took all the money she had saved and used it to publish his seforim.

After that first sefer, Rav Ovadiah published many seforim including his important set of halacha sefarim “yabia omer” Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach wrote in the introduction to the second volume that Rav OvadiaYosef is "one of the greatest Torah scholars which have risen in Israel in recent generations.” At the time, he was only in his thirties. These sefarim have answers to many halachic questions people have asked him. It is considered very special because he included almost every source regarding a topic from very rare sources. Rav Ovadia acted like an encyclopedia for all Torah for Klal Yisrael.

When Rav Ovadia was a young man, he began to go blind, an effect of the poverty of his youth. He went to the Kever of Rav Yosef Karo (who is called Maran by Sefardim) and davened that he still had much of the Torah of Maran to teach. Baruch Hashem, his vision was saved, but for the rest of his life he wore glasses to protect his eyes.

When Rav Ovadia was in Eretz Yisroel he became a Dayan in the Yerushalayim Beis Din, then a higher level Beis Din in Yerushalayim before becoming the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Tel Aviv and finally of Israel.  As a Rav, he took responsibility to help many people who were in difficult situations. After the Yom Kippur war, many men went missing and their wives were agunos. He learned many seforim until he could find a way so that each woman could remarry.

Rav Yosef’s biggest goal was for Sephardim to come back to Torah and Mitzvos. When the Sefardim came to Israel, they were very poor and didn’t have yeshivos. He founded school systems, yeshivos and Beis Yaakovs so that all Sephardic Jews could come close to Torah. He provided hot lunches so that the children wouldn’t go hungry. He gave shiurim every night with humor and love. He was warm and friendly to all. When two boys were left as orphans, he brought them to shul and sat with them. Despite his amkus B’Torah, he related to each Jew with joy so that they would love Hashem too.As a result of his decades of work, there are now great Rabbanim and Poskim, and many families who are Shomer Torah and Mitzvos.

After being the chief Rabbi in 1983, Rav Ovadia founded a political party which had representatives in the government. He was respected and had great influence on the government of Israel. Because of his work, the oppressed Sephardim were accepted by the other Jews in Israel and were able to have good schools and get good jobs.

Rav Ovadia continued to teach Torah until the end of his life. Even though he was one of the biggest Torah scholars of our generation, he taught Torah to whomever wanted on their level. He told stories and taught Torah so that everyone would understand.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef lived Har Nof in Yerushalayim until the end of his life. He was buried next to his wife Margalit, with whom he had eleven children and numerous grand and great grandchildren.

A Biography of Rav Elyashiv, zt"l

6 months ago, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt"l became critically ill. I wanted my class to understand for whom they were davening.  


I also wanted to understand for whom I was davening. What I knew of Rav Elyashiv from news reports was sometimes bizarre. His name was quoted frequently, but often incorrectly. I knew there must be a reason that when someone mentioned the name Rav Elyashiv, the Torah world paid attention. Who was Rav Elyashiv?


Here is the biography I wrote six months ago. It was written for third graders so it as rather simple vocabulary. I have updated it to make it timely.

Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (1910 - 2012)

Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was born in Lithuania. He was the only child of Rav Avrohom and Chaya Erener. His mother’s father was Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, a great Talmid Chacham who wrote a famous sefer on Kabbalah called the Leshem.

Rav Elyashiv moved to Eretz Yisrael with his family when he was twelve. Rav Kook had suggested that the Erener family change their last name to Elyashiv so they could get a visa to immigrate. Seven years later, Rav Elyashiv Rav Kook, made a shidduch between 19 year old Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Sheina Chaya, daughter of Rav Aryeh Levin zt"l. They had five sons and seven daughters.

In the 1950s, Rav Elyashiv became a Dayan in the Rabbanut Beis Din in Israel. He resigned in 1972. In 1989, Rabbi Elazar Menachem Mann Shach, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh was the leader of the Chareidi community in Israel. He asked Rav Elyashiv to become involved in leading the Jews of Eretz Yisrael. After Rav Shach died, all major questions of importance to Klal Yisrael were addressed to Rav Elyashiv.

Rav Elyashiv lived in a small apartment in Meah She’arim in Yerushalayim. He spent most of his days learning Torah and teaching in a small shul in Meah Shearim. He was considered the posek HaDor and Ashkenazi Jews followed  his psak.

Hasmada

The day after his wedding, Rav Elyashiv asked his wife if he could learn Torah undisturbed rather doing some errands right away. His wife, the daughter of Rav Aryeh Levin, was very happy with this request.

She asked him "For how long?" He answered "One thousand days,"

Since then, every day for the last eighty years, Rav Elyashiv learned for 16-20 hours a day.

Rav Elyashiv’s wife was his partner in his becoming a gadol. One day, her father Rav Aryeh Levin zt”l came by. Rebbetzin Elyashiv served dinner to her husband and father in the kitchen. Her father rebuked her for not treating her husband with honor due a Talmid Chochom. Why didn’t she serve dinner in the dining room? Later she explained that one of her children was sick and lying down in the living room. She didn’t want her husband to disturb his learning. She took care of the situation herself.

Living with Less

Rav Asher Balanson, a rav from Tel Stone, went to ask Rav Elyashiv a shaila in his tiny apartment. While there, Rav Elyashiv’s refrigerator broke. Someone joked that the refrigerator was so old that it could be donated to a museum. Rav Elyashiv earned a salary for his work as a dayan on Bais Din so he could have bought a new refrigerator a long time ago if he had wanted. Things were not as important as giving tzedakah and learning Torah.

Rav Balanson told another story about another time he was in the home of Rav Elyashiv. Rav Elyashiv was learning the Yad Moshe, the index of the Igros Moshe. He was reviewing every teshuva of Reb Moshe by looking at a list of titles and page numbers. .

Seeking Truth

Rav Elyashiv had a very good job as a Dayan for the Rabbanut Beis Din. He retired rather than compromising on something he felt was right.

Honesty

A few years ago, Rav Elyashiv needed some electrical repairs done in his apartment. While the electrician was working, he learned that his daughter, Rebetzin Shoshana Zilberstein, had passed away. As he was preparing to go to the funeral, he asked his grandson to find out how much he owed the electrician. Only after he wrote a check to the worker, did he go to the funeral of his daughter.

 A Miraculous Life

Rav Elyashiv’s parents were childless for seventeen years before he was born. Rav Elyashiv’s daughter, Reb. Sarah Yisroelson, said that her father was very ill when he was a child and as an adult. They thought he wouldn’t survive but Klal Yisrael needed him. 

Importance to Klal Yisrael

When Rav Elyashiv was 94, he needed heart surgery. Many surgeons refused to do the operation, but one doctor, Dr. Daniel Clair agreed. Dr. Clair flew from the United States. to Israel to do the surgery. 7 years later, when Rav Elyashiv was 101, the doctor came back to do another surgery. Thousands of Jews davened at the kotel. Shimon Peres, a secular man who is the President of the State of Israel, came to thank the doctor. Mr. Peres told the doctor that this surgery was important to the safety of Klal Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.

This is what the doctor, Dr. Daniel Clair, his non-Jew doctor said: 

“Taking into account that he is 101, when I initially walked into his hospital room, he was sitting at a desk studying. I began talking to him about the surgery and he asked the most insightful questions. . . . This was very impressive for someone at that age - he was so “with it” and involved in the decision-making.

In addition, I don’t know how to explain it, but he is obviously a very special person. I could identify that immediately when I first met him. His presence generates a feeling of reverence. When I returned home with him after the procedure, I got a better sense of how great he is, as there were fifty to one hundred people at his home, waiting to see him. I can’t imagine his importance to the community."

 The Address for all matters of Torah.

Rabbi Orlofsky once went with his mashgiach for advice about a complicated question. He went to one gadol, and it took a long time to get an answer. His mashgiach then brought him to Rav Elyashiv. In the small apartment was a Rosh Yeshiva, avreichim, businessmen and a woman with a chicken all there to ask questions. When it was Rabbi Orlofsky’s turn, Rav Elyashiv immediately answered him in one sentence that put the question to rest.

Answering Klal Yisrael

In 2004, Rav Dunner went to India and found out that many sheitels were made with hair that had been used to worship Avodah Zara. The Halacha is that one may not even get pleasure from something used for Avodah Zara. Rav Elyashiv paskened that women in Eretz Yisrael could not wear sheitels until they found out whether the sheitels came from India or not. Overnight, women stopped wearing these sheitels because Rav Elyashiv had paskened they were forbidden to wear. All over the world, women gave up expensive sheitels because of the psak of the Gadol HaDor.

Last Months

Rav Elyashiv became very ill six months before his death. Klal Yisrael began davening for his recovery. During the 3 weeks, Rav Elyashiv was niftar. Klal Yisrael lost a leader who knew Kol HaTorah Kula and lived by its every word.

Thursday, May 31 recap

Here are some of the things we did today:

Tefillah: for the new tefillah, one student was the chazzan. He read each phrase, stopping at the comma or the period, then the class repeated it after him. This method really helps with fluency for each new tefilla.
Improve fluency, and have students assume responsibility for tefillah

Chumash: פרק לא: כה-ל   First, the  students filled out the Shorashim and Pronoun column for new pesukim in their linear translation.
Goal: word attack skills, pre teaching knowledge that will stop comprehension the 1st time.
Vayitzei Perek 31b Linear

Then we read the pesukim כד & כה where ה' told לבן not to speak.
reviewing important information from last time, and creating anticipation for new material.

As we learned the new pesukim, the kids were literally laughing out loud because of how לבן ignored ה' and cared more about his idols than kids. I read the pesukim dramatically but didn't add any additional commentary. The pasukim speak for themselves. We concluded with each student filling out their linear translation sheets. Independent Practice.

ivrit: We are working on אותי vs אתי. I tried to have the kids write sentences with these words but they are still unclear about the object pronouns. Guided Practice. We sang a song אותי is me, אותך is you etc. different modality learning. Helps memorization and recall. Using the different objects in hebrew sentences depending on the preposition is a hard concept for the kids. They can translate לי in the chumash but  will write אל אני in their own sentences.

Chayeinu: Yamim Tovim Independent learning, self paced. 

 Biography of Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky we are learning about how honest יעקב was so I thought it would be nice to learn about the Gadol who best exemplified this midda - Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky. This was also an opportunity to introduce Rav Shmuel Kaminetzky to the class.  After reading the biography we watch some videos.
rav yaakov


Rav Yaakov zt"l with Rav Moshe zt"l



Rav Shmuel telling a story  about Rav Hyman (go to 4:20 story is 2 minutes)



Rav Shmuel starting off a class (I just showed the first minute to show what it means to be gracious)

List of Biographies

List of Biographies
Why teach Gedolim?

Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel
Rav Aharon Kotler
Rav Henoch Leibowitz
Chofetz Chaim
The Rambam
R' Irving Bunim
Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook
Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv
The Ramban
Rav Moshe Feinstein
Baal HaTurim
Rav Ovadiah Yosef
Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg

Sarah Schnerir
Rav Chaim Soloveitchik
Chazon Ish

Biography of the Chazon Ish

PDF of biography

Rav Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (Chazon Ish)

(1878 -1953)

Rav Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz was born in Kosava, Lithuania to Rav Shmaryahu Yosef and Rasha Leah Karelitz. His parents had 6 children who died. His mother davened that she should have a son who would be a great tzaddik. He also had a brother Rav Meir Karelitz and a sister, Miriam. His sister married Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, the Steipler Gaon. His nephew is y”blc Rav Chaim Kanievsky. He did not have any children

Rav Avraham Yeshaya was remarkable because he was able to learn for many hours at a time. He learned all of Torah. He also studied science and math and used all his knowledge to pasken halacha. During World War I, he never left the Beis Medrash even though there were battles going on close to where he was living. His wife ran a store, and he learned in the Beis Medrash. The non-Jews who shopped in the store would wait for him to come to the store to give them blessings.

Rav Avraham Yeshaya wanted to be private. When he was 13, he made a neder to learn Torah L’shma and not take money for it. Whenever he wrote Torah thoughts, he published his ideas anonymously and simply signed them “איש.” In 1912, he wrote a Sefer on Shulchan Aruch called Chazon Ish with no author. Soon, people discovered he was a Talmid Chacham and the author.

In 1913, there was the trial of Mendel Beilus who was accused of being a murderer in a blood libel. The Russian government also hed another trail to prove that Jews are murderers. The Chazon Ish ignored his wish to be anonymous and wrote a 24 page letter proving how much Jews value life.

By 1920, the Chazon Ish moved to Vilna and learned from the gaon Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, Although the Chazon Ish wanted to live quietly, there was much that needed to be done for the Jewish community after World War I and before World War II. Despite his lack of interest in power, he did as much as he could to help Vilna be run according to Torah.

The Chazon Ish wanted to perform the Mitzvos of Eretz Yisrael such as shemitta and teruma and maser that could only be done there. He said that the halacha is that a Jew must live in Israel if he can afford to do so. He thought that Jews should live in every and any part of Eretz Yisrael. He felt that a person’s neshama could become the greatest in Eretz Yisrael and that Jews needed to act with as much kedusha as possible when in the house of Hashem – Eretz Yisrael. In 1933, he, his wife and mother came to Tel Aviv. He planned to live in the same simple and anonymous way he tried in Vilna.

Rav Chaim Ozer, the Gadol haDor, had a different plan. Rav Chaim Ozer wrote to Rav Kook that ארי עלה מבבל, a lion has come up from Galus. The Jews of Eretz Yisrael should now ask all their shaylos to the Chazon Ish.

He first moved to Tel Aviv and was very upset that most homes did not have a mezuzah. He found a sponsor and arranged for 2,000 mezuzos to be sent from Vilna to Tel Aviv. He went around putting up mezuzos all over Tel Aviv.

He was asked to move to Bnei Brak which was just being built. Someone offered him a job as a mashgiach, but he refused. He only wanted to live from the income of selling his sefarim. The Chazon Ish refused to take any extra money for the sale of his sefarim and would mail back any extra money people gave him. The Chazon Ish rented a very simple apartment with no running water. He was so poor he didn’t even own a Shas. A Jew from Chicago, Baruch Meyers,asked if he could build a house for the Chazon Ish. The Chazon Ish refused. Mr. Meyers built the house anyway and convinced the Chazon Ish to live there. The Chazon Ish agreed on the condition he pay rent. The Chazon Ish moved in with all his broken, old furniture. Each month, Mr. Meyers refused to take the rent, so the Chazon Ish gave the rent money on his behalf to tzedaka. Now, the house is used for a Talmid Torah.

The Chazon Ish only spoke publicly two times. The first time, he was asked to speak on Rosh Hashana. The Chazon Ish agreed to speak in a side room. He quoted a Mishna in Pirkei Avos that says one should online live in a place of Torah- אינני דר אלא במקום תורה . The Chazon Ish repeated the Mishna and sat down. That was the whole speech. He helped guide Bnei Brak to live according to the highest standards in halacha. He made sure that Bnei Brak would have a cemetery, elementary schools, girls schools, yeshivos,  and everything a Jewish community needs to live according to the highest halachic standard.

The second time he spoke was when the Chazon Ish found out that the pump that supplied Bnai Brak with water was fixed on Shabbos by a Jew. One Jew may not benefit from the work done by another Jew on Shabbos. That Shabbos, the Chazon Ish went to the shul and said, “The water may not be used this Shabbos except for medical needs.” The next week, he funded the fixing of the pump so it would not break down again.

The Chazon Ish also answered many medical shailos. A man had a lung condition and asked if he should go outside Israel to an expert for a special surgery. The Chazon Ish told him that he would live if he stayed in Israel, and he would die if he left. When asked why, the Chazon Ish explained that there is a debate what the halacha is for an animal with a similar lung issue. According to the Mechaber, the posek of E”Y, the animal will live and is kosher. According to the Rama, the posek outside of E”Y, the animal is a traifa and will die. The Chazon Ish told him to stay in the place where it was paskened that he would live.

An American once asked him “How do you live?” He replied, “I live from doing others favors.”

In 1940, Rav Chaim Ozer died and had no children. The Chazon Ish then changed from a private person to helping all the Jews in Israel. The Chazon Ish felt he had to take over the job that Rav Chaim Ozer had done. He also lived at a time when Jewish life changed so much. The Holocaust ended in 1945 which was followed by the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The Chazon Ish was impacted greatly by these events. He had a heart attack at the kosel when he found out how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust. He felt he needed to take care of the Jews that remained.

He led Klal Yisrael even though he didn’t have any wealth or position. He helped build over 500 Mikvaos, and sent  many rabbis to secular communities to build Torah by building schools, kashrus, and shuls. He said that the chareidi community should participate in the elections for the Israel government even though it was run  by secular Jews. He also paskened some very important shailos such as where is the International Date Line, how large is a kzayis, how to keep shmitta and many other practical halachos.

In 1952, David Ben Gurion was the prime minister. There were issues that needed to be worked out that impacted the chareidi community. Ben Gurion met with Chazon Ish. The Chazon Ish was able to explain what the sensitivities of the Torah community are so that a compromise could be reached.

In the 1940s, people thought that Torah Jews would disappear. By the time the Chazon Ish died in 1953, because of his leadership, the Torah community was growning and blossoming. 

Biographies - Teaching History to Third Graders

 I hope to write a complete, well documented post about how and why I present the biography of a great Torah leader to the class. Until I have the chance to research and write the post, I'd like to mention how transformative teaching about gedolim to young children can be.

Every week, we read a biography of a gadol that I have written and edited. Most of the information, I am sad to say, is from wikipedia or other online sources but you use the tools you have to do what you can.

Gedolim time provides an opportunity to teach character building in a holistic way. I pick stories for their moral value. I knew that. It gives students a sense of their heritage. I expected that. But there is another side benefit. It has given me an opportunity to  present important events in Jewish history to my students in an non threatening way. For third graders, Jewish history skips from  the destruction of the Second Bais HaMikdash to the Holocaust. Teaching them about Rashi, the Ramban, up until Rav Moshe, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel has allowed me to introduce them to the time period of the Crusades, Communists, and even debilitating illness in a way that young kids can absorb without being overwhelmed. How do you explain the massacres of the Crusades? or the pogroms in Russia? But they can learn about how Rashi reacted to the Crusades, how the Ramban reacted to fleeing from his debates, etc.

Each week, I distribute a new gadol. The students put the new biography in their binder in the right chronological order. This helps them understand who lived before whom and what major events were happening in different locations. I draw a map on the board of Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

The kids love this story time and they now know a lot more about their heritage, geography, and Jewish history  than they realize

Biography of Rav Chaim Brisker - Rav Chaim Soloveitchik

Rav Chaim Soloveitchik

(1853-July 30, 1918)

PDF of biography

Rav Chaim Soloveitchik was born in Volozhin to his father Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, the Beis HaLevi, who taught in the famous Volozhin Yeshiva. When he was a few years old, his fathhr became Rav in Slutzk. Rav Chaim quickly became known for his brilliance and remarkable understanding.

When Rav Chaim was 20, he married Lipsha, the daughter of Rav Raphael Shapiro, and the granddaughter of the Netziv who was the Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin. After Reb Raphael moved to become a Rav, Rav Chaim became a Rosh Yeshiva with the Netziv in the yeshiva.

Rav Chaim began to teach gemara using a new method known as the Brisker Method of learning. Every halacha is analyzed and classified like a scientist. This helps talmidei chachamim understand the gemara and halacha better. This method of learning is now used in all modern yeshivos. Rav Chaim created a new vocabulary so that everyone could understand the gemara better.

In 1892, the Czar forced the Volozhin yeshiva to close. Rav Chaim moved to Brisk where his father was the Rav. When his father died,  he became the Rav.  For this reason, he is known as Rav Chaim Brisker.

Rav Chaim wrote a very important  sefer called Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim on the Rambam. His shiurim were recorded by his talmidim in notes called "Rav Chaim's stencils.” Much of his Torah has also been passed down by his talmidim.  He had six main students; his sons Rav Moshe Soloveitchik (who moved to America),  Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (also known as Rav Velvel or the Brisker Rav who moved to Yerushalayim), Rav Baruch Ber Lebowitz, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, Rav Elchonon Wasserman hy”d, and Rav Shimon Shkop. The talmidim of these 6 students have led the Torah world.

Only Emes

Rav Chaim did not write down his chiddushei Torahh imself. His sons or a shochet in Brisk, Reb Noach, would do so. One Shabbos on Erev Chanuka, Reb Noach was called to the house to record the chiddushim. Rav Chaim spoke for several hours while Rav Chaim wrote 12 full pages. Suddenly, Rav Chaim took the pages and tore them beyond recognition because he said there was a mistake in his ideas. His Torah could only be the truth.

Only Torah

During World War I, Rav Chaim Brisker and familywere forced to flee to Minsk. A Rav went to visit him. The house was in complete disarray. 5 children were sleeping on a board. There was little food. Rav Chaim was resting in a chair. Rav Chaim’s son, Rav Velvel and his son-in-law were trying to clarify the Torah they had just learned from Rav Chaim. Rav Chaim awoke and started to correct the complicated topic he had just taught. Only then did he acknowledge the Rav’s visit. Rav Chaim was able to ignore everything else that was going on because of his quest for the Torah.

This Rav also mentioned how Rav Chaim had many locks on his doors when in Minsk. The reason was that city had many cruel Jews who were trying to take Jewish children away from Torah and did not do chesed  for the poor properly. He locked the door many times so he would not learn from them. Once, they sent him special flour so he wouldn’t get sick. He returned the flour to be given to others who were poorer and in greater need.  

Rav HaChesed

Rav Chaim Brisker changed Torah learning all over the world. Yet, at the time he was niftar, this was not what was remembered the most. What everyone remembered was his chesed. On his matzeiva was written the description “Rav HaChesed”

Rav Chaim’s house was open to all. In Rav Chaim’s living room, beggars would put notices up on the wall. They would sleep on his couches. He would always be careful not to disturb them. Sometimes, his wife or children would walk into the bedroom and find that Rav Chaim had invited some poor people to sleep there and noone in the family had beds.

There was a huge fire in the town and many homes were destroyed. Rav Chaim devoted himself to helping the penniless survivors. Rav Chaim insisted in sleeping in the hallway of the shul. He asked how he could sleep in his bed if there were so many who didn’t even have a roof over their heads.

Rav Chaim was once having an important meeting with the Bais Din in Brisk. A pauper came into the room, ate Rav Chaim’s lunch and fell asleep on his couch. Rav Chaim warned everyone there not to disturb the poor man.

Mothers would leave their babies on his doorstep if they were unable to take care of them or the babies were too sick. Rav Chaim hired women to feed the babies and cared for them in his home.

The people of town paid Rav Chaim to be their Rav. However, whenever he got a pay check, he immediately gave it away to tzeddaka. They had to give the money to his wife to insure that they would have food.

Rav Chaim had a rule. Anyone could ask for something and the family would need to give it without a complaint. Once someone asked Rav Velvel for his pen. Rav Velvel was in the middle of writing some of the chidushei Torah of Rav Chaim. Rav Velvel asked him to wait a minute. Rav Chaim got very upset and said “what is going on here that we don't lend our pens..." (Holchei Nesivos - Middos Tovos)

Rav Chaim changed the world of Torah. We are all talmidim of his because of the Brisker method, the yeshivos that were founded by his talmidim and from learning about his chesed.