A transcript of Rav Deutsch's discourse at a
his'orerus gathering last year in memory of HaRav
Chaim Shaul Karelitz, the late av beis din of
She'eiris Yisroel whose first yahrtzeit is 10 Tammuz.
The discourse took place at the Ponovezh Alumni beis
medrash in Kiryat Sefer.
The days of mourning were fixed by Chazal as days of crying
and eulogizing. However, a hesped said about the
deceased after these days should be a source of satisfaction
for the deceased. Thus the entire point of this hesped
will be to cause his'orerus. The statements said after
the passing of the deceased contain means of arousing the
listeners to yiras Shomaim and improving one's ways.
Surely these are the aspects of a hesped that befit
its name.
The real his'orerus is the speaking about those points
in the lifestyle and in the derech of the deceased,
from which it would be possible to cull mussar
haskeil, and to go be'ikvei hatzon, according to
the spiritual legacy that he had transmitted in his
lifetime.
*
The gemora in maseches Sotah (13b) says that
after his death, Moshe Rabbenu was placed upon the wings of
the Shechina.. The mal'achei hashoreis
eulogized him, saying, "He carried out Hashem's justice and
His ordinances with Israel." (Devorim 33:33) HaKodosh
Boruch Hu, Himself, in His Glory, also eulogized,
kevayochol, Moshe Rabbenu, and said, "Who shall rise
up for Me against evildoers? Who will stand up for Me against
the workers of iniquity?" (Tehillim 94:16) And Shmuel
(the amora) said that they eulogized Moshe Rabbenu,
saying: "Who is like the wise man? And who knows how to
arbitrate the matter? . . . " (Koheles 8:1)
I saw in the name of one of the great commentators, an
explanation of the concept of making a hesped. He said
that after the death of Moshe Rabbenu, Chazal wanted to focus
on his most unique attribute as a main goal, that which
expressed the entire essence of his life and his way of
serving Hashem. Of all the elevated character traits of the
"Master of Prophets," of whom it is true that no one rose
like him, Chazal found it proper to specifically stress the
fact of his being faithful, in the full sense of the word, to
the path of complete truthfulness, unbiased and unwavering,
not even in the slightest deviation.
This is the reason why the hespedim that were said for
him in the Pamalya shel Ma'aloh stated: "Who shall
rise up for Me against evildoers? Who will stand up for Me
against the workers of iniquity?" That made precisely this
point of completely following HaKodosh Boruch Hu,
without an iota of personal bias.
Sometimes we encounter zealots who are moseir nefesh
to burn up evil and to clarify the middoh of truth.
Their entire being is a burning fire of activity in the
milchemes Hashem. However, not always do these actions
stem from a fount of truth. Many times the impetus behind
these actions is not in complete and pure truth. Many times,
zeal might even serve personal interests. It is even possible
for its roots to be implanted quite firmly in the depths of
the ego.
Even if one could see that all the senses are being channeled
for the zeal for Hashem Tzevokos, this zeal might also
simply be the nature of someone, who could not suffer seeing
an iniquity without fighting against it.
This doesn't prove that the intent is pure. Doing
chesed and trying to improve others are fundamentals.
However, not always is the dedication to chesed within
the framework of "real truthfulness." Many times it is the
nature of a man to mobilize to try to improve Mankind. It
isn't just the Divine commandment of doing chesed; it
may just be one's nature not to be able to see his fellow man
suffering or in pain. His personal inclinations drive him to
improve Mankind.
Notwithstanding, such actions are extremely important and one
should not belittle them. However, one still would not
satisfy the Divinely-mandated standard of internal truth.
We noticed that Moshe Rabbenu's degree of truthfulness - -
impartial and without personal interest -- was what triumphed
in all the battles. When a battle was waged against the
sinners of the Golden Calf, it was necessary to kill one's
brother, without mercy, for Hashem's honor.
Contrasting and complementing this, we see the same Moshe
Rabbenu actually risking his own life in order to fight to
save Klal Yisroel for the honor of Hashem
yisborach, requesting and supplicating before
HaKodosh Boruch Hu: "And now if You would but forgive
their sin! But if not, erase me now from Your Book that You
have written." (Shemos 32:32) When it affects Klal
Yisroel and the saving of Klal Yisroel from
annihilation -- Moshe Rabbenu was moseir nefesh for
their sake and was willing to be eternally erased from the
holy Torah!
Only when these two aspects are completely fulfilled, without
bias -- only then does one have both the pure intent and the
internal element of truth. Moshe Rabbenu was the embodiment
of sheleimus and his entire life was a constant
kiddush Hashem. He was an eved Hashem. Bechol beisi
ne'emon hu, he demonstrated these two bechinos:
mesirus nefesh for Hashem's Will, without a trace of
prejudice or instinctive mercy; and mesirus nefesh for
Am Yisroel, also without a trace of personal
interest.
*
Therefore, when the great leader of the Jewish people was
placed upon the wings of the Shechina, and the
mal'achei hashoreis and the entire beis din shel
ma'aloh were summoned to eulogize him, the posuk,
" . . . he carried out Hashem's justice and His ordinances
with Israel (Devorim 33:33)" was applied to him. In
other words, the Torah emphasized the goodness that he
bestowed upon Israel and also Moshe Rabbenu's mesirus
nefesh in leading Klal Yisroel.
And HaKodosh Boruch Hu said: "Who shall rise up for Me
against evildoers? Who will stand up for Me against the
workers of iniquity?" This is to show that together with the
mesirus nefesh for Klal Yisroel was, in
addition, the absolute mesirus nefesh for HaKodosh
Boruch Hu. It was the same Moshe Rabbenu who was moser
nefesh for the Nation, who also stood against those
"workers of iniquity" with his unique capabilities and fought
a milchemes Hashem Tzevokos. This is true
sheleimus.
And Shmuel said, "Who is like the wise man? And who knows how
to arbitrate the matter?" Shmuel thereby meant to fuse these
two special character traits together: to take these two
character traits and to bring them to a balance -- On the one
hand, unrestricted mesirus nefesh for Hashem's honor;
and on the other hand, an awesome mesirus nefesh for
am Yisroel's well-being. This is the meaning of "Who
is like the wise man? And who knows how to arbitrate the
matter?"
I wish to bring this issue here for discussion, where we have
come to speak about the av beis din HaRav Chaim Shaul
(Karelitz), ztvk'l. Being acquainted in the later
years and in meetings on various public issues that were
relevant topics, I merited to meet the Av Beis Din and to
witness his unique integrity.
I am able to testify here about matters that I saw with my
own eyes and have heard with my own ears, of how R' Chaim
Shaul would acquiesce and forsake his own honor by
participating in various meetings. Whether they were concerns
of Degel HaTorah, whether they concerned Yated
Ne'eman, he would sit together with young people who
could have been his children.
It seemed that the subjects under discussion in these
gatherings were distant from him. I, myself, don't know if he
even read the newspaper or whether the topics on the agenda
at these meetings actually interested him. Yet he never
missed even a single important discussion. He always
participated bechol kevod Toroso vetokef ma'amado,
since he was asked by Maran Rosh Hayeshiva [zt"l] to
be among those who show the way.
It is difficult to explain the significance of these matters
to one who didn't see them himself. Yet every time, R' Chaim
Shaul personified Chazal's statement regarding the
Ovos, "They would run before You like a horse . . . "
Everything would revolve around the true trait of mesirus
nefesh, free from vested interests or personal esteem,
without any trace of personal gain. R' Chaim Shaul wasn't
afraid of losing face, and nothing would prevent him from
constantly implementing da'as Torah.
Another aspect of the deceased that was seen was his
middoh of incredible zerizus. He never wasted a
minute of his time, and he never pushed off an activity that
he planned to do. Personal considerations played no role with
him. I am able to attest that if there were a need for him to
go to Jerusalem, he would get on a bus, and not travel by
taxi.
Even for the most minuscule of details, he was willing to
travel great distances. Sometimes, in order to register a
talmid in a yeshiva, Rav Chaim would get on the 400
bus to Jerusalem. He was moseir nefesh for Sephardic
talmidim, and he fought in order to get them accepted
into the yeshivas kedoshos. Never did we hear a
complaint or sigh from him.
He would do everything without procrastinating. From Geula he
would take the 39 bus and arrive at a yeshiva in order to
take care of things. He wouldn't worry about his time, nor
his pride. He never relegated these tasks to others, nor
tried to do them by telephone. Rather he, an 85-year-old,
personally spoke with the appropriate officials, and made
sure to arrange each matter as best as could be done. He
would actually do all this in person. His mesirus
nefesh in order to increase kevod Shomayim would
continue until he was mamash completely exhausted.
Yet, specifically with Rav Chaim Shaul, whereas every Jew was
as precious to him as an only child, and he was prepared to
be humiliated and to inconvenience himself for another,
specifically with him we also saw the second aspect of
absolute mesirus nefesh, for the sake of Heaven,
without prejudice or thought of personal gain. When there
were matters that would affect the honor of Hashem
Yisborach, he would hold back his emotions and go to the
front lines. With vigor and dedication, R' Chaim Shaul would
fight a milchemes Hashem. We saw with him that
mamash at the same time, he was able to combine these
two aspects. On the one hand he was moseir nefesh for
the benefit of the Klal, and on the other hand he
fought without a break for the sake of Hashem.
The younger generation only remembers him as the av beis
din of She'eiris Yisroel. So, perhaps it is possible to
say that he had some kovod. However, what he had gone
through prior to this is extremely difficult to describe.
What disgrace pursued him! Not necessarily from people from
outside -- not secular Jews or religious-nationalists --
rather people from within pursued him and disgraced him in
the most degrading manner. He, himself, would tell us this
and he would not at all become agitated from it.
It's so difficult to understand such a thing! Such a
talmid chochom, a boki in the entire Torah.
Whoever remembers him from (yeshiva) Beis Meir and from all
the other places, and how he would speak in learning with his
brother, Reb Shlomoh, with all the hislahavus.
Together with this, he didn't display his greatness and he
suffered humiliation that an ordinary person would be unable
to bear. He certainly did not give in or compromise on any of
his principles.
Another point that stood out in the personality of R' Chaim
Shaul was his absolute submission to gedolei Yisroel.
He personally told me that there were several cases (though
not many) that his opinion wasn't exactly the opinion of the
gedolim. Even then, he deferred to their ruling. He
had real mesirus nefesh to do the will of the
gedolei Yisroel. Their will is the will of HaKodosh
Boruch Hu,, and one must follow their instructions.
It is difficult to describe his mesirus nefesh and
absolute submission before them. These are things that are
hard to imagine. However, we saw them with our own eyes, day
after day, year after year: the absolute heeding to their
dictates, and the amazing submission and acceptance of their
opinion.
I am aware that in his early years, there were still many
people who thought that R' Chaim Shaul could not relate to
mundane matters, and wasn't sufficiently "open." Yet one who
sat with him at critical deliberations was amazed at his
incredible intelligence and his way of evaluating each
matter. He was a wise man who could see far-reaching effects.
Everything was with incredible intelligence, in order to
please HaKodosh Boruch Hu.
In all of the accomplishments that we have mentioned, he was
surely unique in his generation. It is not my intention to
lower the esteem of others, however R' Chaim Shaul was
unique. In his lifetime, Rav Yosef Lis zt"l,
accompanied him in performing the unpleasant tasks (to put it
mildly). However after [he was niftar], R' Chaim Shaul
remained alone and fought with all his might for the pure
truth. For anything related to the desecration of kevod
Shomayim, he was prepared to be moseir nefesh,
mamash.
He was well-known for his pleasant ways and the amazing
regard he had for bnei Torah. R' Chaim Shaul was well-
regarded for his naturally simple lifestyle and for his
pleasant manner of speaking. He always said, "I am nothing, I
am merely an emissary. I say what I think needs to be said .
. . Obviously, do whatever you think . . . " This was his
manner of speech, resulting from his humility. His humility
was indescribable. He didn't indulge in anything from this
world. His lifestyle was just doing Hashem's Will without
limits. Everything was for Heaven's Sake.
In our topsy-turvy generation, these points which we have
raised here regarding the personality of the Av Beis
Din, are eye-openers. One must try out these tips and
attempt to follow his ways.
Today there are those who fight for different causes.
Certainly, they may be all lesheim Shomayim. However
we follow the Chazon Ish, who was the Father of our
Generation. Our battle today is for everything about which he
was moseir nefesh in his lifetime. This is the Torah
that we have inherited and we live according to it. And
today, groups come to fight for all kinds of other matters.
The following is merely one example, simplified, and not
chas vesholom, against something in particular. This
is not my intention. All of these groups certainly are
moseir nefesh. They have their way, and we have our
way.
It was said that all the gedolei Yerushalayim were of
a particular opinion about how to conduct oneself in
Shevi'is. I don't want to go into details about how
many of the gedolei Yerushalayim actually held this
opinion. However, why must one disturb one who wishes to
observe shevi'is kehilchosoh? [For example, it is
known that Maran zt'l wrote that the Teshuvos
Maharashdam does not indicate that there was a
cheirem on those who observed kedushas
shevi'is; rather, the teshuva's reference was to
people who wanted to be stringent in observing two Sabbatical
years, out of sofek hashonim. This was what they
fought for. The Maharashdam wrote against this practice.
Actually, these statements are explicit in the Teshuvos
Maharashdam. Yet some claim that "we never heard of a
dispute of machmirim in observing two
shmittahs." However, in our generation, the
Teshuvos Maharash Yaffe who lived in the period of the
Maharashdam, was published (Moriah, 5740). He wrote
that there were those who were stringent in the observance of
two years of shemittah, and there was powerful
opposition to their custom. From this, one can see the clear
truth of the Chazon Ish.]
There are other matters and battles that the tzibbur
is unaware of, like certain psokim of the Brisker Rov
and the Chazon Ish, and other numerous matters of the
religious founders whose rulings are vital to bnei
Torah. [To ensure that these can be observed] the
avreichim bnei Torah must maintain an independent
organization, an apolitical body, and their own separate and
independent kashrus organization, for which one must be
willing to be moseir nefesh.
Maran Rosh Hayeshiva expressed this regarding the
Yated Ne'eman. Since one could apply this concept to
the Yated Ne'eman, even more so should one be able to
apply this concept to She'eiris Yisroel, that one must be
compelled to be on guard.
We are aware that although the detailed policies are those of
Maran Rosh Hayeshiva, everything done within the
kashrus organization is analyzed in accordance with the
psakim of HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, who is obeyed
implicitly.
I, myself, am not sure if I always understood the ways and
actions of the Av Beis Din zt'l, and of Maran,
(shlita) zt"l. However, certainly all of us must learn
from him, as far as the mind can grasp, how he was like a
soldier on the front lines, and how he, together with all the
gedolei Yisroel, fought with great devotion. We are
obligated to learn and to take mussar haskeil from all
of these traits. If not for people like him -- Avoy
lonu!
It truly is a duty to publicize a story that happened to
Maran HaRav Eliezer Menachem Man Shach. An important Degel
HaTorah meeting was scheduled to take place. One of the big
kano'im be'emes was due to participate in the same
meeting. Maran Rosh Hayeshiva called me to say that he didn't
want that person to participate in the meeting since that
could destroy the Eida Chareidis. The issue was considered a
contradiction to their way, by them, and [if he participated]
it could break them. Rav Shach therefore didn't want him (the
activist) to come. This truly was the way of the Av Beis
Din.
We don't wage war against anyone who also wages the war of
Hashem. Just we have our own way; and all of the gedolei
Yisroel march together with us.
We must learn what exactly is mesirus nefesh from the
distinguished niftar. With Hashem's Help, may kevod
Shomayim be increased. May we merit to acquire as a
personal acquisition for ourselves the points that were
mentioned. With the merit of increasing kevod Shemo
Yisborach, may we merit the coming of the Moshiach
Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days.
