Rav Gustman
Rabbi Naftali Weinberg is a student of the Gaon of Israel, Rabbi Yisrael Zev Gustman, of blessed memory, and served as a Rebbe at his yeshiva, "Netzach Yisrael." For many years, he was close to his teacher and rabbi, Rabbi Gustman, and was very familiar with his opinions and views. After the New York elections, in which an anti-Israel candidate was elected mayor, I asked him what he thought Rabbi Gustman would say today to the Jewish people living in the diaspora. And this is how he replied: 'I don't know if this happened directly as a result of the Six-Day War, but the fact is that one day he announced in the yeshiva he headed in New York that he had decided to move to Israel.' He left his comfortable position there and even his yeshiva, ascended to the Land of Israel, and reestablished the yeshiva there in the Rechavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. I told him at the time that if he made aliyah, I wanted to make aliyah too, and that's what happened. He didn't used to make announcements or address the general public, but through his actions and personal example, he showed that the place of the Jews is here in the Land. I am convinced that today, even more so, he would have said that the reasons for remaining in exile are over, and would have expected, certainly from American Jews, to immigrate to Israel. '
Just peel the skins...
My teacher, the author of "Netivot Yeshurun," told me: "In Haaretz newspaper, in its previous incarnation, when hatred toward the Haredi public was not as great, they decided to write an article presenting the Haredi public to the secular public. So they sent a journalist to visit the yeshivos. Among other things, he met with some of the leading heads of yeshivas there. His knowledge of Judaism was zero. For example, they wanted to daven after the meeting, and they were one short of a minyan. They asked him to complete the minyan and he joined with joy. They gave him a siddu, and he said everything that was in it, including "אתה חוננתנו" and "יעלה ויבוא".
Among other things, he requested to meet with my teacher and father-in-law (the Slonimer Rebbe, author of "Nesivos Shalom"). My father-in-law told me that he said to that journalist: "Why did Yaacov bow down to Esav 'seven times until he came near to his brother'?" According to Kabbalah, with each prostration, he peeled off one shell, until the seventh, when he reached the very heart of his brother, "and he kissed him and they wept." The journalist understood the idea to which the Rebbe was alluding, that one only needs to peel away the outer layers to reach the heart of brothers.
And then the Rebbe said that he wanted to ask him a question that had been bothering him for many years and to which he could not find an answer: 'It is known to all that a high percentage of the younger generation in the general public have abandoned the path of their parents, both ideologically and morally. In other words, educational success rates are disproportionately low compared to success rates in the religious public. This is not about religious values, but about values that are universally agreed upon. After all, you are thinking people, and you see that there is a problem with your educational approach. Why aren't you interested in sending people to investigate the secret of the educational program's success in the religious community, even according to your own views? After all, maybe you can learn something from them!'
After the meeting, the journalist wrote a warm thank-you letter to the Rebbe, adding: "It is clear to me that the High Holidays this year will not pass by me just like before..."
The Igros Moshe And Baseball
Chaim Katz from New York told me: 'In my youth, I studied at the "Tiferes Yerushalayim" yeshiva of Rav Moshe Feinstein. It was founded in an area of immigrants, with a very low economic level. Although they were not Jewish and had no interest in the Beis Medrash of course, some of them used to enter the yeshiva on cold winter days and sit in the Beis Medrash, just to enjoy the warmth. I remember Rav Moshe leaving and as he passed by them, he would approach them and ask if they were missing anything, how they were feeling, if they wanted something to eat, and so on. People generally avoided them because they were very neglected and often emitted a bad odor.
Sometimes I would drive Rav Moshe in my car on his way to shiur. Despite being immersed in Torah at all times, he was very warm and interested. He would ask me about my family, how I was feeling, and everything that was on my mind. I even remember one time when it was an important part of the baseball season, everyone was talking about it, and he asked me what was going on with baseball, because that's what interested me. I admired his humility. He was undoubtedly the greatest of his generation, and he lived with complete simplicity in all aspects of his life, and in friendship with every person. There was no way to feel any sense of importance from him at the yeshiva, no "distance" or awe, simply because he was the head of the yeshiva.
List of sources from the blind scholar
And Chaim Katz added: 'There was a young man in our yeshiva who studied with Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin in his old age. For three years he studied with him until he got married and became too busy. He offered me to study in his place with Rabbi Henkin. I didn't know then how to appreciate the privilege of learning with one of the greatest halachic authorities, who was considered a Torah giant even in his youth, in the previous generation. When I went to him for the first time, he asked me what I wanted to study. This was before Chanukah, and I suggested we study the Mishnah Berurah on the laws of Chanukah, and that's what we did. He was blind and over 90 years old. I would read the Shulchan Aruch and the Mishna Berura, and he would comment, expand, and point out different sources. Sometimes I would write down the sources he cited, and then I would open and check them, and it was always accurate. He mastered all sources, and the entire Shulchan Aruch, for example, was stored in his memory. Sometimes he would also disagree with the Mishnah Berurah. I didn't understand then what the significance is of learning with a posek on a scale that can disagree with the Mishna Berura. I had a notebook where I would write down the places where he commented on the Mishnah Berurah, as well as his arguments and proofs. I kept the notebook at my parents' house for many years, but over time it got lost, which is a shame. By the way, his grandson, Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin, author of the Responsa "Bnei Banim," writes that his grandfather had a general tendency to rule according to the "Aruch HaShulchan" against the Mishnah Berurah.
God hears you. Want a sign?
My teacher, the author of "Nesivos Yeshurun," told me: 'My father worked at a flour mill about two kilometers north of Tiberias. He would come home every day by hitchhiking. One day he was standing by the side of the road and no one gave him a ride. At some point, he started walking, but the heat was unbearable. He stopped and said to God, "Please send me a ride home," and immediately someone arrived who called out to him, "Mr. Luria, come on up, I'll take you home." And then my father said to himself: How is it that I asked the Holy One, blessed be He, many times for things much greater and more significant, and was not answered, and when I asked for something so small, I was answered immediately? What is God trying to tell me? This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, only wanted to give me a sign that He hears every prayer, even if He decides not to answer it. '
The grandfather's soul is calling her to come home
Rebbetzin M., the wife of a community rabbi in South America, told me: 'I grew up in Mexico, in a traditional home where we went to shul on Shabbos. In my youth, I was a complete atheist. In my life's journey, there was no reasonable chance that I would come to the Land of Israel, keep the Torah and commandments, certainly not marry a Torah scholar and serve as a rabbi's wife and religious guide, but the ways of God are hidden. My grandfather, Ezekiel Raphael, of blessed memory, from Bulgaria, was a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Israel immediately after and lived there for several years. He participated in the War of Independence and the establishment of the state. He wasn't observant, but he was very connected to Judaism, the community, and giving. I was especially close to him. How symbolic that when he passed away, during the shiva, Rabbi Arturo Kanner from Mexico arrived and offered me a free organized trip to Israel. But what do I have to do with this land? I asked him if they had other destinations, other countries to offer... Anyway, in the end, I decided to go. As soon as I arrived in Jerusalem, I felt like I had come to my place in the world. The first night I spent there was entirely in tears. My search story is long, and it included, among other things, studies in philosophy, world travel, and everything except... my Judaism. I received another hint from Divine Providence in my life's path when I noticed that my official immigration date to Israel was Tishrei 17, the same date as my grandfather's passing. Similarly, such insights continued in the form of significant events in my life that happened again around the 17th of Tishrei, such as the day of my engagement to my husband, and the day of the birth of our first daughter. Signs and hints give strength.
ר' מאיר דורפמן - עתון גילוי דעת
