True greatness in Torah and true greatness in humility are inextricably intertwined
Living Higher
Two weeks ago, Rav Gershon Ribner shlita made the trip from Lakewood to Baltimore. The bochurim of Yeshivas Ner Israel’s Chaburas Chofetz Chaim, a learning seder in which the bochurim learn Sefer Chofetz Chaim or other seforim focusing on shemiras halashon, were making a siyum, and Rav Gershon was invited to be the guest speaker.
His derashah was incisive as it was inspirational, leaving the bochurim with a sense of pride at their accomplishment and renewed ambition for further achievement.
But it was his introductory remarks, shared prior to beginning the derashah, that would give the boys an all-new insight into Torah, derech eretz, and the bridge between.
“When I was a bochur learning in Brisk,” Rav Ribner said, “I used to go to the home of your rosh yeshivah, Rav Aharon Feldman shlita, for Shabbos.” Rav Feldman, who was present, nodded slightly, and Rav Ribner continued. “He had learned in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin and was a friend of my father shlita.
“My father suggested that I would gain a lot if I would eat there on Shabbosos, and my brother and I went often. This was way before he was a rosh yeshivah, way before he wrote The River, the Kettle, and the Bird. We knew him as a talmid chacham who spent years and years in Kollel Chazon Ish. I was zocheh to learn from him — to watch every move he made. Everything he did was calculated, it was all thought out.”
Rav Ribner then segued from his flashback into his prepared remarks.
When he concluded the derashah, Rav Feldman rose to leave, and Rav Ribner escorted him to a waiting car, bidding farewell to the man who he knew as a “talmid chacham from Kollel Chazon Ish.”
And the bochurim watched these two giants in Torah, and understood that true greatness in Torah and true greatness in humility are inextricably intertwined.
Just like Rav Gershon Ribner and Rav Aharon Feldman.
Overheard
“Bochurim who perform on the highest level during the zeman, and then come to a well-deserved bein hamzanim, and instead of taking it easy in avodas Hashem, give Hashem the nachas of continuing to daven and learn at the same levels they had during the zeman, such bochurim deserve to spend their summers in a camp that, too, is on the highest level.”
—Rabbi Chaim Metzger, director of Camp Teumim, a highly regarded camp for high school and beis medrash age bochurim. In his welcome speech this past Sunday evening, Rabbi Metzger shared that the camp had renovated its beis medrash and seforim library to afford their campers the opportunity to enjoy their summer learning in optimal conditions.
HAPPENING In...
Montreal, Canada
MK Kosher, Montreal’s local kashrus certification agency, went all out last week to host the annual AKO (Association of Kashrus Organizations) conference. Over 115 rabbanim, dayanim, mashgichim, and heads of kashrus organizations gathered in Montreal to discuss contemporary kashrus issues.
On a panel held Monday night, attendees had the opportunity to pose questions to Dayan Aharon Dovid Dunner of London; Rav Yonasan Binyamin Weiss, av beis din of Montreal; and Rav Menachem Meir Weissmandl, av beis din of Nitra. One questioner asked: “With the popularity of gluten-free products steadily increasing, have we reached a point where gluten-free breads — made without any of the chameishes minei dagan, five grains — require bishul Yisrael because they are oleh al shulchan melachim, fit to be served on a king’s table?”
Dayan Dunner responded by musing at our fast-paced world in which standards change so quickly, often for the worse. “Years ago, nice suit pants were mechubad, but today, hoizen (pants) with holes have become mechubad!” the Dayan exclaimed.
Rav Weiss took it one step further, explaining that while our menus might be constantly evolving, our core standards have not. Circling back to the original question, he said that while gluten-free breads might be popular, they most likely wouldn’t be served as the bread at a wedding. “They’re just substitutes for the real thing — swapped in for health or other concerns,” Rav Weiss concluded.
The 115 attendees at the conference, spanning locales from New Zealand to Montana, Turkey to Holland, and Vancouver to Australia nodded and took notes, leading Rabbi Saul Emanuel, director of MK Kosher, to muse that, “While standards around the world are changing at a gut-wrenching pace, and even bread isn’t what it used to be, the standards of Torah and halachah will never budge an iota — and our reps in the kashrus field ask the questions to make sure we get it right.”
