A new sefer, Orchos Chasidecho, was recently
published with the recommendations of HaRav Aharon Yehuda
Leib Steinman, HaRav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, HaRav Chaim
Kanievsky and HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman. It was compiled and
edited by HaRav Osher Bergman.
In his recommendation to the sefer, HaRav Meir Tzvi
Bergman writes: "We have already heard that some say that
they have raised their children to Torah, mitzvos, middos
tovos, and pure yiras Shomayim [by means of the
accounts of the lives of tzaddikim . . . Each fact
arouses the hearts of the readers to take stock of their ways
and to draw closer to Torah study. Such a sefer, whose
basis is the conduct of the gedolim of past
generations, is like a mussar sefer."
Following are some excerpted stories.
Write them on the Tablet of Your Heart
Rabbenu, the rosh yeshiva of Ponovezh, Maran HaRav
Eliezer Menachem Shach shlita, has been suffering for
many years from problems with his eyes. At one point, it was
decided to call in a specialist, who would check Maran's
eyes, and determine how to make seeing easier for him. The
specialist designed a special type of magnifying glass [which
would slide into the rosh yeshiva's eyes something
like a contact lens], enabling him to read the small letters
of the gemora.
The specialist arrived, and wanted to see how the Rosh
Yeshiva read with the aid of the magnifying glass, so that it
could be adjusted to his needs. He asked that the Rosh
Yeshiva be brought a sefer with small letters. A copy
of Shev Shmaitsa lay on the table, and the Rosh
Yeshiva began to read it aloud.
After a few minutes, the specialist stopped him and said:
"Impossible! The Rosh Yeshiva can't be reading from the
magnifying glass. He knows the book by heart, and that is why
he is reading at such a rapid pace. The examination isn't an
examination at all, and doesn't reflect the state of his
eyesight."
But that wasn't the end.
The members of the household placed another sefer
before the Rosh Yeshiva -- Ketzos Hachoshen. The Rosh
Yeshiva began to read, but the specialist stopped the
examination and once more said that the Rosh Yeshiva knew the
material by heart.
A third attempt was made, and this time Rabbenu's own
sefer, Aviezri was brought to him. But he remembered
every word he had written many years beforehand.
There was no choice but to bring him a newspaper, and to ask
him to read a few paragraphs. Only then was the specialist
able to check the Rosh Yeshiva's eyesight.
May I Never be Unable to Immerse Myself in Torah
Learning
One time, HaRav Yehuda Zev Segal zt'l, the rosh
yeshiva of Manchester, traveled with his father from
London to Gateshead. They had a round-trip ticket, which was
cheaper than a one-way fare. But it soon became clear that it
was impossible to study in peace in their compartment, and
that it was necessary to exchange the ticket for one in the
first class department in order to be able to learn properly.
Although such a ticket was more expensive, HaRav Segal could
study there undisturbed. The exchange of tickets caused him
to lose the discount he had received by purchasing the round-
trip one. Even though every penny was important to him, he
nonetheless exchanged the ticket, saying: "It's worthwhile to
pay any price for five hours of Torah study."
HaRav Segal prayed that he never find himself in a situation
in which he is unable to immerse himself in Torah learning.
From his standpoint, that was the worst of all. He also
concentrated on this thought when he prayed the posuk,
"Do not cast us off in old age."
"From the Depths I Have Called Out to You, Hashem."
The wedding of one of the students of HaRav Aharon Kotler,
the rosh yeshiva of Lakewood, took place on a day
Jerusalem was shelled. All of the guests were forced to lie
down on the floor. HaRav Kotler, who was in Eretz Yisroel at
the time in honor of the Knessia Hagedola of Agudas Yisroel,
was the mesader kiddushin at the wedding. He, too, was
forced to lie down under one of the tables, which served as a
makeshift shelter.
Suddenly the Rosh Yeshiva was heard shouting from under the
table, and calling out to Shomayim from the depths of
his heart: "Ribono shel Olom, tell the destroyer to
stop. I have to deliver more shiurim. We have much
more to do in this world." With that, the shelling
stopped.
An Answer as It Should Be
Someone once asked a certain talmid chochom to present
a very difficult question to the Chazon Ish. A number of days
passed, and the Chazon Ish still hadn't replied. The
talmid chochom approached the Chazon Ish and said: "I
need an answer to that question."
The Chazon Ish replied: "Do you think that one issues a
psak so easily? I am so torn by such questions, that
my mind begins to ache. When I feel that I am incapable of
thinking any more, I reply."
Uprooting the Torah -- How?
The Chazon Ish studied each and every sugya with much
toil and exertion, probing its depths in order to reach a
clear decision. His stringencies did not stem from hesitation
or lack of clarity, but rather from the in-depth analyses he
would conduct while examining the issue.
One time, someone close to him asked him a very serious
question on Yore De'ah. The Chazon Ish probed the
matter over and over again, and found it hard to reach a
decision. The man, who sought to ease the burden of the
Chazon Ish, said: "It doesn't matter. If it's difficult to
decide, I'll behave lechumro.
The Chazon Ish was aghast, and exclaimed: "Acting stringently
due to a failure to clarify an issue is comparable to
uprooting the Torah."
Chessed by the Wayside
HaRav Aharon Kotler always asked his driver to stop his car
whenever he saw someone waiting to be picked up by a private
vehicle. "It's a pity not to take advantage of the empty
seats," Reb Aharon would say, adding the words of the
gemora that "a person should not discard his waters,
if someone else can use them."
One very stormy day, he asked the driver to stop for three
strangers who were standing at the side of the road. The
driver explained to Reb Aharon that it was dangerous to pick
up such hitchhikers. They were liable to rob them, and even
to seize the driver's place.
"Nonetheless, it is written, `His mercy is on all of His
creatures,' " the Rosh Yeshiva said.
Although he never stopped learning even during his travels,
when a hitchhiker would get into the car, Reb Aharon would
exchange some words with him, as a host does with his guests.
These few words of hospitality also were a chessed, he
would explain.
A Shiur in the Heavenly Yeshiva
One time, HaRav Yisroel Zev Gustman, the rosh yeshiva
of Yeshivas Ramailles, visited a bochur who was
suffering from a debilitating disease. During the patient's
last night, Reb Yisroel sat beside him and, in a most
pleasant manner, delivered a lengthy chiddush. The
following day, after the petirah of the young man,
HaRav Gustman said that he had wanted to furnish him with the
first shiur in the yeshiva shel maalah.
