“Is it possible,” the talmid asked, “that the Vilna Gaon didn’t hear the thunder?”

AS the zeman wound down in Gateshead Yeshivah, the venerated rosh yeshivah, Rav Avrohom Gurwicz shlita, delivered his regular shiur klali. “Is it possible,” the talmid asked, “that the Vilna Gaon didn’t hear the thunder?” The Rosh Yeshivah had just cited a Meiri in Nedarim when the piercing shriek of the fire alarm overpowered his voice.

The talmidim jumped, startled, but the Rosh Yeshivah didn’t flinch. Against the background of the earsplitting blare, he continued to explain the Meiri’s position. Eventually, the alarm turned off, allowing the talmidim to focus again.

At the shiur’s end, talmidim crowded around the Rosh Yeshivah with questions on the sugya. One talmid had another sort of question — he sought clarity on the sugya of life.

He prefaced his question with the following story: “It’s said that the Vilna Gaon was once asked if one should recite the brachah on thunder while learning. The Vilna Gaon looked up. ‘Why are you asking me?’ he inquired of the questioner. ‘Because there was just a crash of thunder,’ the fellow responded.”

Rav Avrohom Gurwicz nodded upon hearing the story, not understanding where this was headed.

“Is it possible,” the talmid asked, “that the Vilna Gaon didn’t hear the thunder?”

“Yes, certainly,” Rav Avrohom answered. “If one is entirely engrossed in his learning, he doesn’t realize what is going on around him.”

The talmid pressed on. “And is this a level of learning that existed only in previous generations,” he asked, “or is it attainable by people in our times as well?”

“No, no,” Rav Avrohom said assuredly, adding emphatically, “It is something even we can relate to… and we should aspire to attain.”

The bochur paused for a moment before asking. “Did the Rosh Yeshivah hear the fire alarm in shiur today?”

“What?” asked Rav Avrohom in surprise. “Fire alarm?”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 970)