A shul in Dvinsk built originally in 1850 - still active
Rabbonus
Reb Meir Simcha never sought a position in rabbonus. Rather, as it says in Pirkei Avos (6, 1), "One who learns Torah lishmo attains vast accomplishments... it makes him great and elevates him above all deeds."
His appointment to the rabbonus in Dvinsk was a direct result of a hesped for the previous rav of Dvinsk, Rav Reuven Halevi — the well-known author of the Rosh LeRe'uveini. The maspid was Rav Yankele Charif who concluded with a familiar refrain, whose source is a Yerushalmi in Brochos (Chapter 2), "There are four things which are used in this world and all of them have a replacement — but a talmid chochom who dies is irreplaceable. However," Reb Yankele proceeded and exclaimed, "in the present situation, in spite of the gadlus of R' Reuven, there is a replacement — an avreich in Bialystok named Reb Meir Simcha."
Concurring with this suggestion was the recommendation of the Beis Halevi and of HaRav Yitzchok Yeruchom Diskin (the son of R' Yehoshua Leib Diskin). Thus, in 1888, Reb Meir Simcha became the rav of Dvinsk where he was to remain until his death some thirty-nine years later.
Love For Torah
Reb Meir Simcha was blessed with tremendous intellectual capabilities, but he did not become a godol by virtue of them alone. There were many people of great potential who in the end did not amount to anything. HaRav Meir Simcha also had a deep love for Torah and was completely dedicated to it.
He said once that as a child of about ten years old, after ma'ariv one night he went up the ladder in the beis medrash and began poring over a sefer. He remained, absorbed in the sefer all night. In the morning when the shamash arrived for shacharis he reminded the young boy to come down from the ladder. Meir Simcha asked him, "Have they already said Borchu (after ma'ariv)?" He had been so totally absorbed that he totally forgot about the time.
We already mentioned that he would put in eighteen-hour days in the shul in Bialystok, totally absorbed in Torah.
In many places in his seforim we see that he was particularly gratified if he later found his pshat in the work of earlier writers. This is because his goal was to find the emes in Torah and not to just produce chidushim.
One particularly amazing story was written by HaRav Chaim Stein, in his introduction to the Mekor Boruch of Rabbi Nochum Boruch Ginsberg zt'l the rov of Yanova.
HaRav Stein writes that HaRav Ginsberg told him that one day he visited Reb Meir Simcha in Dvinsk, and he found Reb Meir Simcha in an unusually good mood. Reb Meir Simcha told him the reason for his elevated state. He had just recently completed a chidush which he felt was the emes. When Reb Meir Simcha fell asleep he saw in his dream how the Gedolei hadoros were sitting in the Shomayim bemoaning the fact that nowadays there are few people who really succeed in reaching the emes in Torah.
At that point the Rashba got up and said, "In Dvinsk there is a rav who succeeded more than I in reaching the emes."
The reason was that the Rashba had a question that he had been unable to answer, and concluded that it was necessary to change the text of the gemora. Reb Meir Simcha had just found an answer to the Rashba's question without altering the text.
This chidush is printed in the Or Somayach (Ma'aser Sheini 7, 3) where he adds, "I am ecstatic that Hashem led me on the path of emes." (The dream is certainly a siman min haShomayim that Reb Meir Simcha's chidush had found favor by Hashem—cf. Brochos 28A)
His dedication and hasmodoh can also be seen from the following episode which occurred when Reb Meir Simcha was already an old man.
Reb Meir Simcha was resting on the sofa when Reb Zvi Hirsch Yemini entered. Reb Meir Simcha listened to Reb Hirsch's chidushim. After a while, he told his visitor to take out a notebook and read from page twenty-nine of the chidushim that he (Reb Meir Simcha) had written some thirty-two years previously. R' Hirsch was amazed that Reb Meir Simcha remembered precisely what he had written thirty-two years previously.
Their discussion continued and after a while Reb Meir Simcha rose and they looked up something in a gemora. While they were studying the gemora, a woman entered to ask a sheilo. Reb Meir Simcha turned his attention to the woman's sheilo and went into a second room to check something in connection to the sheilo. old and weak as he was, Reb Meir Simcha did not put down the heavy gemora. Rather he put his finger in the place and closed the sefer with his finger serving as a marker, and carried it along with him all the time.
When he finished the sheilo, Reb Hirsch asked Reb Meir Simcha why he wouldn't put down the heavy gemora. Reb Meir Simcha reacted with amazement and replied, "Can one do otherwise? The posuk says about Torah (cf. Brochos 5A), `Remove your eyes from it [for an instant] and it will be gone.'" Reb Meir Simcha felt that even the small lack of attention implied by putting the gemora down would be in violation of that posuk.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that Reb Meir Simcha has such a phenomenal memory. He followed the gemora fully and of course the gemora's promises were fulfilled.
Reb Meir Simcha not only was totally absorbed in his own Torah learning but he also had a love for all who learned Torah. He would often visit yeshivos in order to test the talmidim. He would ask questions which helped students to develop their own potential. He would inquire further about bochurim who did particularly well, occasionally caressing their cheeks as well.
At times bnei Torah came to visit him in his rest period. The rebbetzin would try to discourage visits at those times. However, Reb Meir Simcha would hear nothing of it. He said, "My talmidim (all talmidei yeshivos) can enter at all times."
He would encourage talmidim to dedicate themselves totally to Torah as gedolim of previous generations had done. His role model was the Noda BiYehuda who writes in the introduction to the first volume of his teshuvos that he stayed away from home the entire week, doing nothing else but learn with a group of talmidei chachomim.
Latvia
Sonei Botza
Reb Meir Simcha lived a very plain and meager existence. He was sent many presents but was careful to avoid accepting any. When he was aware of the identity of the sender he would return the gift. If he was not aware of the identity of the sender then he would divide the money among the poor.
During the First World War, he was sent money for the needy by the Joint Distribution Committee. He never took any money for his own needs. When the representative of the Joint saw what a meager amount Reb Meir Simcha himself subsisted on, he begged him to accept something. Reb Meir Simcha steadfastly refused. When the representative's insistence could no longer be refused, Reb Meir Simcha let the Joint deposit money in an account for him. However, he never touched the account.
Similarly, at one time one of the most honored members of the community gave Reb Meir Simcha five rubles. Seeing that it would not be proper to refuse the gift, Reb Meir Simcha accepted the money, put it aside and would not touch it even in the most critical times. In his will he asked that the money be returned to the man or his descendants.
Likewise, he insisted on receiving only a meager salary. Once a meeting was held at which it was decided that Reb Meir Simcha's salary was insufficient to even subsist on and that the rav would get a raise. When Reb Meir Simcha heard of the decision to grant him more money he protested, saying, "My salary is sufficient to cover my expenses," and in the end he succeeded in overturning the decision.
Dedication to His Flock
Reb Meir Simcha's one and only position was as rav of Dvinsk, a post he filled for nearly forty years. His dedication to the town was particularly noticeable during World War One. In many towns in Poland and Lithuania, the vast majority of the Jews fled the town during the war. The residents of Dvinsk were no different and many of them fled to safer areas.
Dvinsk was actually a battleground during the war and those who remained behind were mostly the poor who lacked the means to escape. Many people begged Reb Meir Simcha to leave too. Reb Meir Simcha replied that as long as nine Jews remained, he would also stay to complete the minyan.
He advised others as well that there was no reason to flee. He coined the famous saying that every bullet has an "address" and one of whom it has not been decreed in the Shomayim to be punished will not be harmed.
[This is not the place to discuss this weighty and complex issue. The Ramo in Yoreh De'ah (116, 5), for example, rules that if there is a plague one should flee the city. Rabbi Akiva Eiger thereon brings two reasons for this ruling, the second of which applies to war as well.]
In fact a shell one time struck Reb Meir Simcha's house. It lodged in the wall of the room where Reb Meir Simcha learned. He was unperturbed by the situation but his neighbors became panic stricken. They summoned the army to dispose of the unexploded shell. Reb Meir Simcha protested that this was unnecessary and in the end he won this argument as well.
His concern was not only for those who remained but for those who left as well. He would distribute funds to those who were in need. He was particularly concerned for those whose husbands had gone off to fight. In fact, he would even write letters for the women who were unable to write to their husbands who were drafted.
His activities greatly enhanced his stature. People looked at him as the loyal ship captain who remained with his ship until the end. In fact, many attributed Dvinsk's survival to his merit.
On another occasion the people also attributed their survival to his merit. It was in the winter of 1921-22 when, due to the cold weather, the people were all gripped with fear that the entire town would be flooded. Reb Meir Simcha took a walk with a close associate. His companion asked him what will be with Dvinsk. Reb Meir Simcha replied by looking up to the sky and reciting the posuk in Tehillim, "Hashem, show us your kindness and grant us Your salvation." At that very instant, the ice pack which threatened the town began to move.
Several simple people who witnessed this even wound up in Israel.
His dedication to Dvinsk manifested itself in other ways as well. On numerous occasions he was offered more prestigious positions. Among them was rav of New York, Kovno, Pinsk and even Yerushalayim.
In fact, the decision to offer him the position of rav of Yerushalayim was made by HaRav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky and shows the great respect he had for Reb Meir Simcha. The year was 1903 and Yerushalayim needed a rav to assist the venerable R' Shmuel Salant. Yerushalayim had traditionally vested HaRav Chaim Ozer with the privilege of finding its rabbonim.
HaRav Chaim Ozer conducted a conference in Vilna at which Reb Meir Simcha was selected. Reb Chizkiyohu Yosef Mishkovsky (later rav of Kfar Chassidim) was delegated the honor of informing Reb Meir Simcha of the decision. Reb Meir Simcha argued his case for refusing the offer, and in the end remained at his position.
End of Part I
