After the bed of Maran Rabbi Shach zt"l

From the Desert of Gift – 2001

In the last one hundred and four years, until Friday, Arshak P. Vairah Deshta, there has (barely) been a Jew in this world who, wherever you said 'the head of the yeshiva', everyone knew that he was the one being referred to. Today, there is no such person. Today, there are those in the world who have earned the title of 'the head of the yeshiva', but not one who is called 'the head of the yeshiva' (except due to a linguistic confusion).

There is a difference between the two concepts: 'Rosh Yeshiva' and 'Harosh Yeshiva'. Ostensibly, only the (incorrect?) placement of the word "Ha" distinguishes the two concepts, but in fact there is a profound difference between them. The concept of 'Rosh Yeshiva' indicates a personality who stands at the head of a particular yeshiva, and it is usually clear from the context who that yeshiva is. In contrast, the term 'Harosh Yeshiva' describes a person who stands out among all the Rosh Yeshiva (without excluding, of course, all the others). The word "Ha" refers to the collection of Rosh Yeshiva, not to the collection of yeshiva.

In the term 'head of the yeshiva', the yeshiva defines its head. Anyone who knows which yeshiva is being referred to knows to whom the phrase 'head of the yeshiva' is directed. In contrast, in the term 'head of the yeshiva', the head defines the yeshiva. It is clear who the head is, and in that case we can also learn who the yeshiva he heads is.

Because of the distinction between the terms, it seems to me that any yeshiva student in the last two generations can call Rabbi Shach the 'Rosh Yeshiva', without any contradiction to his own 'Rosh Yeshiva' (which would be distinguished from the Hatua).

Rabbi Schach symbolized and expressed uncompromising devotion to Torah. He spent his entire life, with extraordinary devotion, in Torah and in the propagation of Torah. At the same time, he also had a complete disregard for the rule. He had no private life at all. His door was open, without any reception hours, to give encouragement and advice to every person and every oppressed person in all areas of life, while at the same time he was also faced with weighty decisions regarding the rule. I know someone who asked him where it would be a good idea to open a kiosk, on a particular or unknown street corner. Every child or young man who felt any pain came to him to be blessed and receive advice. He was a 'servant of a holy people on holy land,' literally. I feel that we do not know today the figure of a great Torah scholar of this type. Rabbi Schach belonged to past generations, in many ways.

His disregard for the Torah, the Giver of the Torah, and his people, sometimes led him to harsh expressions and an uncompromising war on ideas and individuals who seemed to him to endanger the Torah as he understood it. It was an open rebuke and a hidden love, in the sense of "whatever he loves...he reproves." More than once, among other things, these harsh expressions referred to the national-religious public, a fact that can cloud our attitude toward him.

It is told about the author of Sefat Emet who came out of the room of his grandfather, the author of the Chiddushei Rim, after receiving vigorous reprimands, all happy and joyful. When his friend asked him why he was so jubilant, Sefat Emet replied: And is a minor word in your opinion deserving of a reprimand from the author of the Chiddushei Rim?! "Blessed are you, Israel, before whom are you purified, and who purifies you."

Everyone who knew the 'Rosh Yeshiva' zt"l knew that all his actions were for the sake of Heaven. He was willing to pay heavy prices for his opinions and leadership, and did not enjoy the Aw"z in its entirety, literally. Rabbi Shach acted with zealous honesty. He guarded himself from any vestige of any benefit, for himself or his relatives. It is said that at his death all he bequeathed to his descendants was a pair of tefillin (my little ego can attest that this is certainly close to the truth, and it is likely that it is the very truth). It should be remembered that this was a man to whom many offered all the best of the land, and were willing to serve him in whatever he desired, and he always refused. In his apartment (which did not belong to him either) there was almost nothing except a wooden bench that was about to fall apart, a table and a bed in not much better condition, and so on. Such a great man is not suspected of personal attacks, and certainly everything he did was for the sake of Heaven.

We are blessed to have been cleansed (and perhaps even purified) from his mouth. May the Lord be a guide of righteousness for us and for all of Israel.