Like anything a tzaddik says, the few words contained endless layers of meaning

Photo: Avi Gass Photography

The Philadelphia rosh yeshivah, Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky shlita, was honored with sharing divrei brachah at the annual Mir dinner last Sunday night. Once the swelling chorus of “Yamim al Yemei Melech” settled, the Rosh Yeshivah began to speak.

“Ich hub gekummen altz kavod haTorah,” he began, “I came for the sake of honoring the Torah.” He then bestowed a brief but effusive brachah that there be “simchos, simchos, and simchos.” And then, just as he was about to leave the podium, he added one sentence. “I’m just an innocent bystander.”

Like anything a tzaddik says, the few words contained endless layers of meaning.

A crowd of thousands may hang on to his every word, roaring an emphatic Amen to a simple blessing, yet Rav Shmuel seemed to notice none of it. As far as he was concerned, he was there to watch them, and not the other way around. He came to the Mir dinner as a bystander, to marvel at the yeshivah’s accomplishments and to celebrate its successes — Ich hub gekummen altz kavod haTorah.

Kol haborei’ach min hakavod, says the mishnah, kavod borei’ach acharav. Anyone who runs away from honor, honor will run after him. The words of Chazal need no corroboration, but it’s always inspiring to watch them come alive before our very own eyes.

The cry of “Yamim al Yemei Melech” ringing out from the scores of attendees was truly a display of kavod haTorah; the sort of kavod reserved for those who spend a lifetime viewing themselves as bystanders.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 956)