Temporary Residence
Maran was very particular that the sechach covering of
his succah be very thick so as not to have any holes
(air spaces) and that it remain dark to the eye from the
outside, also that it be impervious to rain.
He was careful that there be no invalid covering, either in
the middle or on the sides. In his new residence, where the
walls were already standing, he asked that the boards be
dismantled since it was not to his liking. On Rechov
Wasserman, there was a large shade tree that overhung the
succah a little bit. He did not rest until he saw to
it that the extra branches were completely removed to his
perfect satisfaction.
(Notes from HaRav Bergman, shlita)
*
He spent a great deal of time in the succah and this
mitzvah was particularly beloved by him. In his later years,
when his eyesight weakened and he was unable to arrange
proper lighting in the succah, he would go into the
house to study, excusing himself on the grounds that he was
exempt because Torah study required a clear mind. He made
sure, however, to sleep in the succah under all
circumstances.
*
He was very careful not to be lax in any facet of the mitzvah
of succah and not to rely on the blanket leniency of
mitzta'er (it is uncomfortable). He actually regarded
the phenomenon of giving various external excuses to avoid
sleeping in the succah as a veritable inroad against
the halochoh.
When his grandchildren complained (in the old apartment) that
cats were sleeping on the roof of the succah, he said
that this could not be [i.e. that he could not come to harm
because of it] since one who kept the commandments would
suffer in no way due to his observance.
He once heard about a certain old man who pleaded
mitzta'er, that he was greatly inconvenienced and
discomfited, and would not sleep in the succah. This
old man would eat his festive meals by his children except
for a morning bite, which he took by his neighbors. Maran
regarded it unfavorably that the sons did not build a
succah for their father, at least one that fulfilled
minimal requirements.
*
Rabbenu used to drink tea outside the succah and would
even partake of fruit as well, saying that he had seen this
done by his own teachers.
(Notes from HaRav Chaim Bergman)
*
When he was still vigorous, Rabbenu would make it a point to
lend a hand in the covering of the roof of the succah
by at least laying several of its branches.
*
It is known that Maran's succah was heavily decorated
with the pictures which people would send him for hanging,
and which duly served as segulos for the donors. (Some
considered sending a picture to HaRav Shach to be a
seguloh for a shidduch.) Rabbi K.Y., who was
appointed to arrange the decorations and hang them, tells
that there were times when Maran was very particular about
what to hang and where.
He paid special attention to the hangings right above his
seat, or above his bed in the small succah. In a
moment of light humor, he once remarked, "Just make sure you
leave enough room for me to enter the succah."
*
Hanging all around the walls were pictures of Maran R' Akiva
Eiger, the Beis Halevi, R' Chaim, the Chofetz Chaim, the
Chazon Ish, R' Isser Zalman and R' Aharon Kotler,
ztvk'l.
Sometimes he would inquire if they had already hung up the
picture of the Chofetz Chaim.
(Peninei Rabbenu Ha'Avi Ezri)
*
On the first night of Succos, after having made
kiddush and partaken of an egg-measure of
challah, he would listen as a list was read before him
of all the people who had sent decorations to be hung in
Maran's succah. He would then pray for them and bless
them.
One time, when there were a great many names with many of the
donors being young women who needed to find their mates, he
said, "A rachmonus! Where will I find so many suitable
matches for them?"
But then he added, "But after all, Hashem is the Father of
orphans, the [merciful] Judge/Protector of widows, Who is
near to all the broken-hearted. He is Omnipotent."
And then he would begin to pray for them all.
*
Since he used to light candles in the succah before
Yom Tov (he was accustomed to lighting the candles
beforehand, even on Yom Tov), he would send someone in the
middle of the prayers to check that everything was alright.
(See Mishnah Berurah siman 639:8).
On Rosh Hashonoh and Yom Kippur, when the services are long,
he would send someone to his house to check that all was well
for he felt that as a trustee over hundreds of thousands [of
shekolim] of charity money deposited in his care, he
was a shomer -- and accountable.
*
Succos was for Rabbenu a time of great joy, of jubilation. He
was fond of expounding a great many commentaries pleasing to
the ear and telling numerous stories. Many of the stories
publicized by word of mouth and which appear in writing in
Shimusha Shel Torah and Mishulchono Shel
Rabbenu, were told over by Rabbenu during Succos.
He made many extra efforts in matters concerning this
festival, the succah and the special segulos
involved in building and decorating it. Great indeed was his
joy when it was satisfactorily completed.
He had two succos in the apartment on Rechov Raavad,
one large one for eating and receiving guests and a small one
for sleeping. Both of these were erected by people who were
in special need of yeshuos of various forms.
In his latter years, he refused to bless those who helped
him, nor did he want to bother people to help him for
nothing. Nevertheless, there were many who sought to help out
even if they would not receive his explicit blessing.
Rabbenu would ask that the matted (manufactured)
sechach coverings be checked over, so as not to
trouble the few people who were still involved in building
his succah. Several types were brought before him and
he looked into their respective halachic sufficiency by
himself. He inquired what other rabbinical opinions were
regarding the different kinds and finally sent over a trusted
confidante, HaRav Dovid Zimmerman, to HaRav Shmuel Halevi
Wosner with a mat that he had himself selected, for his
approval. He awaited his return and then ordered that it be
placed as a covering on his succah.
(Even then, there were a few individuals who participated in
this mitzvah and who were duly blessed.)
*
He was not particular about ma'amid dema'amid [that
something holding up the supports of the sechach not
be potentially tomei as the Chazon Ish ruled] based on
the Mogen Avrohom and the Gra for, he said, the Rambam
maintains that even ma'amid is kosher, as is the
opinion held by the majority of poskim. This is what
he saw by HaRav Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik, ztvk'l.
Arba Minim
He was very meticulous about the kashrus of his arba
minim. When he was younger and still saw well, he would
tour the markets himself in a search for his own set. Later,
people would bring specimens for him to select. He had his
steady suppliers who brought him choice lulovim and
esrogim.
Nevertheless, once he felt he had found perfection according
to the halochoh, he did not spend extra time on
finding a more beautiful specimen, feeling that this
constituted bitul Torah, a waste of precious time.
*
He was very careful in selecting triple leafed
haddasim and did not rely on chut hamakif [that
a single thread passes through all three leaves]. He wanted
them to be actually triply aligned. He often expressed his
pain to those who came to visit that he only had one
hadas that satisfied his stringent requirements.
One time, walking along Rechov R' Akiva, he could not help
lamenting his woe before random passersby. R' Dovid Shmidel
brought him haddasim many times, and Rabbenu was
especially grateful to him for this.
His fear, anxiety and distress when he did not have adequate
haddasim is impossible to describe. In his later
years, when he could hardly see at all, he would rely upon
the inspection of his son-in-law, HaRav M. Bergman.
*
One of the people who used to bring him lulovim to
choose from told that the tree in the Lod area from which he
had been accustomed to pick the palms leaves had not been
tended well one year and had dried up almost altogether. The
wonder was that, nonetheless, he was always able to procure
at least one very perfect lulov. Until the last year .
. .
*
Rabbenu was of the opinion that one should take the
lulov after shacharis, since the
davening is the steady mitzva (todir), whereas
the Four Species is the rarer one.
When he was in Kletsk however, where the custom was to take
the Four Species before shacharis and recite the
blessing over them in the succah, he was reluctant to
practice his own custom and be different than the rest. What
did he do? He said his prayers at home, alone, so as not to
transgress the practice of todir -- the more
prevalently practiced mitzvah -- according to his opinion,
and then he would take the arba minim and recite the
blessing over them.
Afterwards, he would go to the synagogue for
Hallel.
*
When he came to live in Eretz Yisroel, he would say the
blessing over the arba minim before Hallel. One
time on the first day of Yom Tov when he would usually go to
daven in the yeshiva, he decided against it; he said
that it was not seemly for him to arrive with an array of
esrogim. It smacked of pride he said, also because
everyone would rush and crush to recite the blessing over his
set. Besides, he preferred not to recite the blessing before
davening, since this was not his custom either, being
contrary to the rule of todir.
In the end, he decided to daven shacharis
elsewhere.
(Notes from HaRav C. Bergman)
*
He told his disciple, HaRav Chaim Mordechai Osband, that even
though the gemora explicitly states that the custom of
Yerushalmim was, "A man leaves his house holding his
lulov, goes to the synagogue holding his lulov,
recites the Shema and prays with his lulov all
the while in his hand . . . " it seems obvious that under
these circumstances, they surely recited the blessing over it
before they said Krias Shema and the rest of the
prayers.
The Rosh writes in Succah (perek gimmel, siman 33)
that even though one actually takes the lulov in hand
before he recites the blessing over it, it is still
considered the "blessing before the act" since we find that
it was considered mitzvah min hamuvchor in
Yerushalayim to continue to hold on to the lulov at
all times. It seems clear that this was carried after having
said the blessing over it, which they had surely said right
at dawn.
Maran said that this is only according to their custom of
holding onto the lulov all the while and thus
fulfilling the commandment every minute. If one does this,
there is no basis for applying the rule todir veshe'eino
todir . . . for if that rule applied, they would have not
fulfilled the mitzvah while walking to shul in the
morning or during the time of prayer. Therefore there is no
basis for applying the rule that the more common mitzvah
comes first.
But we who only take our lulov for the Hoshanos
and Hallel, the question is whether to take it for a moment
before prayers or after prayers. Here we can apply the rule
of todir veshe'eino todir.
(From Sefer Hazikoron Sakoso Leroshi, compiled by his
grandson, HaRav Yissochor Bergman)
*
He used to say the blessing and make the ni'anu'im
during Hallel over the most beautiful esrog available.
It did not matter if the esrog was a descendent of
those certified by the Chazon Ish or those certified by the
Maharil Diskin. Sometimes, it was a Yemenite esrog
with a very good chazokoh. Also, someone would provide
him each year with a beautiful esrog from the plains
of Morocco.
His disciple, HaRav Emanuel Toledano, once told him that he,
himself, should surely say the blessing over a Moroccan
esrog, for that was part of his ancestral tradition
from generations back. Maran greatly praised this
practice.
*
The haddasim and the arovos were bound to the
lulov with a koishikel-holder braided from palm
strands which his grandchild, HaRav Ben Zion Bergman, would
make expressly for him. The actual binding together of the
Four Species was seen to for dozens of years by HaRav Eliezer
Markowitz. He said that Maran used to request that it be done
in his presence. He would rivet his gaze upon the
lulov throughout the process until completion.
Even when the first day of Yom Tov fell on Shabbos, Rabbenu
was very punctilious that the lulov be already bound
up on Erev Shabbos, even though it is very difficult to
maintain the freshness of the arovos in this manner
until they were first taken on Sunday.
*
On Hoshanna Rabba afternoon, he would ask to be given his
arba minim again. Sometimes he would perform the
ni'anu'im movements as one does during prayers. On the
final Hoshanna Rabba of his life, when HaRav Aharon Nochum
Miletzky brought the arovos to him, he burst into
copious tears. When the former later told this to other great
men, they became greatly alarmed at the implications.
*
He was meticulously careful that the lulov be green up
to its very tip and fully closed and that it not have any
brown crown (koro).
He was most careful that the leaves at the topmost point end
together and not open to any question not going up
together.
*
He made it a point to have arovos with particularly
thin leaves, which are elongated like a stream. He did not
generally look for arovos that actually grew by a
stream. However, if they brought him arovos that
actually grew by a stream, he preferred them.
*
He made it a point to have a fully yellow esrog, as is
maintained by the author of Mishkenos Yaakov.
*
When everyone came to say the blessing over his lulov,
he did not make a point of transferring ownership to each
single person by himself, that is directly from him, but told
each person to pass it on to the next in line.
Simchas Torah
Maran was careful to complete his weekly review of the
parsha with the double reading of the text and the
single reading of Onkelos [shnayim Mikro, echod
Targum] of Parshas Zos Habrochoh before Shemini
Atzeres.
One time, when HaRav Dovid Frankel zt'l came to visit,
he asked him if he had already reviewed the sidra. He
noted, "The designated time for it is today, not
tomorrow."
*
Rabbenu was in a heightened state of jubilation on Shemini
Atzeres (which is together with Simchas Torah in Eretz
Yisroel), the day of rejoicing over the Torah. He would point
out the illuminating story told of the Gaon who would glow
like a veritable torch, rejoice and dance before the Torah.
His joy was even increased during the hakofos and the
removal of the Torah scrolls from the Oron Kodesh.
Even at his very advanced age, he would clap his hands during
the hakofos.
*
He would generally make the hakofos amidst a small
minyan in the house of his neighbor and confidant,
HaRav Yosef Neuwirth. Rabbenu would be honored with
chosson Torah but in his unbelievable humility, he --
the pillar of Torah and its very crown -- would sincerely ask
if there were not anyone else present "more worthy of the
honor than me?"
In his latter years, he would weep profusely and say, "But I
don't study or pray as I should. How can I deign to go up for
the honorary chosson Torah?"
In his final year, he wept and wept before he could finally
bring himself to actually say the blessing over the Torah.
(Notes from R' Chaim Bergman)
*
One of the reasons, apparently the main one, for his ceasing
to go up to the yeshiva to participate in the hakofos
was because everyone would crowd around him to pay deference
to the [his] Torah. Actually, he regarded this as a slight to
the Torah Scroll itself.
One year when he did go, arriving during the middle of
hakofos, he made it a point to hold on to a Sefer
Torah. When he saw that they had stopped singing in his
honor but were still encircling him en masse he,
nevertheless, feared a slight to the honor of the Torah
Scrolls and returned home.
*
One year, around 5740, people begged persistently that he
join the yeshiva in their hakofos. He finally
capitulated, on condition that they not sing in his honor.
And so, he went there in the afternoon. But when the public
saw him in the doorway, they spontaneously burst out in a
rousing, thunderous rendition of "Yomim al yemei melech .
. . "
Rabbenu immediately motioned frantically with both hands that
they cease but when that did not help, he turned around and
went home.
On other occasions, this song was sung in his honor. For
example, on Purim after the reading of the megilla
when he was accompanied home. This demonstration distressed
him greatly and he would make restraining motions with both
hands that they stop. If this proved ineffective, he would
simply run home at full speed.
(Pearls from Rabbenu HoAvi Ezri)
*
Rabbenu regarded it a most important aspect of Simchas Torah
to increase one's diligence and application to Torah study,
for this is the prime honor and joy of the Torah. He was very
embittered over the fact that people had changed the nature
of this day and that they no longer found time to actually
study the Torah with which they were so exuberantly
rejoicing.
He once remarked to his grandson, Mordechai Yosef, saying,
"Today, when everyone goes up to dance, you go to a side room
and rejoice with the Torah by taking a gemora and
studying it intensely."
*
In his latter years, he was once visited by his trusted
confidant, R' Chananya Cholek. Maran asked him, "Did you
dance today?"
"What?"
"Don't get insulted if I ask you if you studied today,
either." And he added, "The main thing is not to dance with
one's feet to and fro. On Simchas Torah one must rejoice with
the Torah by studying it! And people tend to forget this."
He said that when he was still in Europe, he would stay awake
every Simchas Torah night, all night, and study with joy in
Torah, on the day of the Rejoicing of the Torah.
(Notes from R' C. Bergman)
*
When he asked his great-grandson, R' Chaim if he had already
danced with the Torah, the latter replied that he hadn't been
given the chance to do so.
"I'll tell you what to do. Take a Chumash Bereishis
and dance with that!"
The Festival Days and Isru Chag
He would hand out lechaim drinks on Isru Chag
Succos.
*
There were years when he put on tefillin on Chol
Hamoed in private. This is what Maran HaRav Isser Zalman
Meltzer, ztvk'l, had practiced.
*
He was careful not to engage in any melochoh de'Orayso
even on Yom Tov Sheini, to comply with the opinion of the
Rambam. He wore his festival attire on Isru Chag, too.
Once during shacharis in yeshiva, he greeted everyone
with a "Gut Yom Tov." Sometimes he would rule
according to the Rambam when asked by foreign students what
to do about the second day of Yom Tov.
*
He would study Koheles extensively throughout the
entire Succos.
*
When he entered his succah on Hoshanna Rabba to take
leave of it, he would weep.
*
On the third day of Chol Hamoed, he would exhort everyone to
study. He used to say, "Today one must intensify one's effort
in study, for today is the yahrtzeit of the Vilna
Gaon."
(Notes from HaRav Avrohom Yeshaya Bergman)
