DEVELOPING TORAH VALUES - part 3One of the Rosh Yeshiva’s best talmidim related to this writer the following: The Rosh Yeshiva once called me over with his usual sweet smile and hinted to me that it is time to think of marriage. Then he looked at me and said that I should put on some weight, and suggested that I eat a lot of a certain food (“Ihr darft essen herring a sach”). Why that particular food? Because it tastes good and therefore won’t be a burden for you to eat and will thus allow you to “think in learning!”It would seem that the Rosh Yeshiva was worried. If he encourages a talmid to spend more time eating then “Torah mah tehei oleha?” - What will happen to all those moments that could be spent in learning? So he hit on this solution. [Incidentally, one can see the Rosh Yeshiva’s sanctity and his attitude towards eating in general. To us a tasty food would be counter productive - it would take our minds away from “thinking in learning”, not remove the “burden” of eating!] This writer, and other talmidim noticed that the Rosh Yeshiva always left over a sizeable amount from everything he ate or drank, in fulfillment of the “Ta’anis Ha’Raavad” (fast prescribed by Rabbeinu Avrohom ben Dovid) quoted in sefer “Y’sod HaTshuva” of Rabbeinu Yonah. The Ra’avad there says that refraining from completing a meal when one still has a desire to eat or drink will remind him of his spiritual purpose, will help him develop self control and will atone for his sins, even more than a weekly fast. At times the Rosh Yeshiva could forget to eat altogether. . . . Rav Herschel Rosenham shlita once had to chauffeur the Rosh Yeshiva in N.Y. He stood inside the apartment, near the door waiting for the Rosh Yeshiva to take his coat and leave. The Rebbitzin o.h. came over, wrapped up a piece of sponge cake and put it in the Rosh Yeshiva’s coat pocket. She then turned to R’ Hershel and said, “ulai v'ulai . . . just maybe he’ll notice something bulky in his pocket . . . And just maybe he’ll put his hand in his pocket and take it out, . . . just maybe he’ll open it up, and . . . just maybe he’ll eat it. Otherwise he won’t eat anything the whole day!” In any case, his own needs were deferred without hesitation for the sake of others . . .
"When it came to the clothes he wore things were not any different," recalls Rav Yaakov Weissberg. “Yes, the Rosh Yeshiva was neat and clean, but it was very difficult to convince him that it was time for a new hat or some other garment. He wore it until there was absolutely no question in his mind that he couldn’t wear it any longer. ” [Needless to say, as stinting as the Rosh Yeshiva was when it came to personal needs, he was extremely generous to others, always seeking their comfort and well being. This was true with anyone and everyone, all the more so with Bnei Torah where ahavas yisroel was coupled with ahavas Torah. He once said, the true value of money is that it can be given to a yeshiva bochur to learn Torah, and when it came to giving something to yeshiva bochurim, the Rosh Yeshiva was open handed indeed. He was always offering bochurim money - pocket money, money for clothing, for other needs, even for Bein Hazmanim (intersession) vacations. This writer cherishes his very first encounter with the Rosh Yeshiva till this day. In order to meet with the Rosh Yeshiva for an entrance “farher” it was necessary to travel to Fleishmans, New York to the hotel where the Rosh Yeshiva was staying. I traveled “by thumb” as was the practice then. When I arrived, the Rosh Yeshiva tested me. (That “farher” is a story in itself. Suffice it to say that before I entered I was shaking like a leaf. To be tested by the Gaon HaDor, the Sar HaTorah, the greatest Torah scholar of the generation . . . ! But as soon as the test started I lost all my nervousness. The Rosh Yeshiva was so excited, exhilarated, and enthusiastic about every piece of g’moro, every Tosfos, every question, every answer, that it felt like he didn’t focus on me at all; it was as if he wasn’t even testing me. I never saw such love of learning, such Simchas HaTorah in my life!) After being accepted I prepared to go home right then and there. The Rosh Yeshiva, however, wouldn’t hear of it and insisted that I sleep overnight in the hotel, at his expense. The next morning the Rosh Yeshiva would not allow me to go back using the “method” with which I came. Instead he sent me back by bus and of course, again covered the expense.] |