Who Was the Chazon Ish? (Yahrzeit)

The Chazonish is your tight, Baruch Hashem. Ashreinu metav chelkeinu she zachinu to a gadol kaze that's known as Rav Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, the famous Chazonish. A man that was very unbecoming, unknown, quiet, not known. It's Yud Daled Cheshvan was his yahrtzeit, and I find a very particular connection. He almost died on Yom passed away on his birthday, which is the derech of tzaddikim as we're familiar. Cuz his birthday was on Yud Aleph Cheshvan, which I find that very enjoyable cuz that's my birthday, also. Happens to be a little bit of a different year. I was a little bit of a different year than him. He was at 1880, I was a couple years after that. Be kol panim, the I Chazonish was a very quiet, unknown man for 50, 60 years of his life. The people in the city obviously knew he was an adam gadol and the gedolei hador knew about him until the Chazon, the Chofetz Chaim and Rav Chaim Ozer came up to him and told him, "It's time for you to get out. You have to go and help Klal Yisrael. The Yishuv in Eretz Yisrael is in danger." As we know, the Zionist movement or the I say specifically the secular Zionist movement was out on a rampage. And yes, it was, so to speak, if anyone reads the history, we see clearly that the religious life in Eretz Yisrael was in peril, in absolute danger. And they said to the Chazonish with a cape and to go ahead, put it on, and fly to Eretz Yisrael, and go ahead and take care of it. He had to leave the Beis Midrash that he so was beloved upon him. A man who you is learning was incredible. I'm saying his sefarim really, really, if I could say, are unparalleled to other gedolim's sefarim, so to speak. In Vilna, they referred to him as the next second Vilna Gaon. Now, that maybe is a little bit exaggerated, but not crazy, because the the idea is that the Chazonish encompassed the biur in depth the whole entire Torah in his sefarim. You see it. Every one paragraph is like a whole shiur klali that a Rosh Yeshiva will give in Yeshiva. I'm telling you everything that he writes there is absolutely incredible. I remember when I was in Yeshiva and I was still young and the first time I learned with the big Talmud Chacham, someone who's very Talmud Chacham, he's now in my Yeshiva here and he learned with me one Keta, one piece from a Chazon Ish. I remember him just going through it. I said, "Okay, we'll read a Chazon Ish." I mean, the Chazon Ish is this thick the book and the writing is this small, very small, incredible amount of writing inside of each book. I said, "I'll read one paragraph, how much could it be?" We spent 45 minutes on one paragraph and it was everything that the Russia Shiva just said in the sheer. I'm telling you almost all the ideas he said, "Oh, that's like the Russia Shiva." It's all in the sheer. I I was in absolute stunned. I almost was Chazer B'Tshuva from that for doing that. It was incredible to see the depth of of this man. And therefore, when he left the Yeshiva in Vilna and he went to Eretz Israel, the Chaim Ozer said about him, "Ari Olemi Bavel, a lion is leaving Bavel. It's leaving from Chutz La'aretz and it's going um to uh to Eretz Israel." And yes, he came with full force. Now, we have to get a good picture to understand in Eretz Israel at that time a Borek Einbo Mayim. The place was completely desolate, also physically and also spiritually. It was a place where, like I said, all that mattered at that time was the Zionist movement. It was, you know, pushing out any type of Yeshiva, anyone who's going to get in our way. It was undoing swamps. It was Kibbutzim. It was about building this country and anything that's going to get in our way, any type of especially religious phenomenon which is just annoying and like little thorns in our sides was very unwelcomed in the in the place. But the Chazon Ish came with a very strong push and he came as the expression goes, came to here at the rally of stuff. Wasn't only said by Rav Yosef, it was said by the Chazon Ish that he came to go ahead and bring back that Torah back to his to its place, to bring the crown back to its place of glory and he did not give in to anything. Now, let me clarify. The Chazon Ish was an incredibly enjoyable person to be around. He had a smile, he was a friendly guy, he even made jokes sometimes, and he was someone who cared about each individual incredibly. He had a heart of gold. Okay? And it's it's a fact that obviously you'll say oh he was a god will be so well. No, it wasn't, you know, just it was there. Well, Marshall, there was a child who was an orphan because both his parents were killed in Auschwitz. He actually witnessed his parents actually being killed and he ended up surviving. He was a young child at the time but he somehow was saved by his aunt that pulled him out and got him into Eretz Yisrael. The Ponevezher Rov wanted to give him a shower, they gave him food, and they wanted to give him a shower and he refused to take a shower. He refused, he wouldn't do it, they wanted to do it. And eventually, when they asked, they got it out of him the reason why. He said, "Every time I would take off a piece of clothing, my clothing was stolen from me, it was taken away. I don't want to get rid of my clothing cuz it's going to be taken away from me." So, they brought him to the Chazonish and the Chazonish said, "You don't have a father, you don't have a mother, I'm your tati, I'm your father." The Ponevezher said The Ponevezher Rov later said, "You were their father and your mother." And he said, "And I'm going to hold your clothing. Go and take the shower, I'm going to stand here and watch your clothing and not go anywhere." Just remember, the Chazonish was a busy man, he had other things to do than to watch someone's clothing. In the meantime, when he went, the clothing, you can understand, stank, it was completely smelly, it wasn't washed in a couple months. And they immediately, him and the Ponevezher Rov, before they Two of the biggest gedolim that were walking the planet at the time, took the clothing and soaked it in soap water and washed it with their own hands. They washed it and like when the kid came out, he goes, "Where's my clothing? Where's my clothing?" And they showed him that it was up on the line, here it is, ready for you. He was wearing his pajamas. First thing in the morning, it's going to be ready for you, your clothing. And from then in, he was a ben bayit by the Chazonish, this person this this Yankele, this little boy is still alive, he's now 80 years old and he's learning in Chazonish, he's a massive talmid chacham with great grandchildren already. >> [clears throat] >> Al kol panim, I'm just bringing that out in order to show that the Chazon Ish had a heart of gold. But when it came to halakha, as they say, there were no psharas. There were no compromises. He never gave in to anything. When it came to Eretz Yisrael, when it came to the shmita with heter mechirah, he did everything in his can to make sure that shmita would be kept held to the fullest of the law. There should be no compromise in anything. When it came to the chalifa, when it came to milking the cows on Shabbat, he said that there were people from amongst us, religious people that are milking the cows on Shabbat and saving the milk. If anything, you're supposed to kill the milk. Obviously, not getting into the halakhic topic right now. And therefore, he worked very hard to make a change in that whole entire in that whole entire idea that people shouldn't do that. The idea of chashmal, electricity, which was being run by the chilonim on Shabbat, he was very strong that we can't use that chashmal. And all of Bnei Brak was put on a generator. You You know, these days, these things sound so easy. You're talking about incredible in the '40s. You realize how difficult it was to do every one of these acts. And he would never give in. He, of course, had the famous meeting that he had with Ben Gurion in his own house. I was in the house, and I saw the room where they sat. It's Kedaf. Anyone goes to Eretz Yisrael, you should go over there to the house of the Chazon Ish. And just tell them I sent you. I'll get 10%. And over there, when Over there, they showed the place where he sat with Ben Gurion. And Ben Gurion told him and they He came about the giyus of the banot. Obviously, he was talking about the girls. He was talking about the girls going to the army. And he said that there's no compromises. We're not giving one girl. He held that a girl cannot be under any jurisdiction except for her husband. From her parents to her husband. It doesn't go anywhere else. They're not under a government jurisdiction. Besides the fact that we know what goes on in the army. And Ben Gurion, basically, through the back and forth over there, told him that we are stronger than you. Why? Because we have an army. We have We have We have an army. We have a police force. We can do it. And the Chazon Ish said, "Back then, we're stronger than you." And he opened up his shirt in front of him, and he said, "Go ahead and shoot. He held his Yari Gavo. He didn't mean it as a metaphor, he meant it literally that it's Yari Gavo and he didn't give in to anything. Again, the Hazon Ish was a very sweet and able man. He was willing to meet the Prime Minister. The Brisker Rav didn't want to see him. Didn't want to look at him and also a couple other Ravanim. He was willing to meet him. I would have guessed that they told him you know when the Prime Minister comes you have to you know you have to honor him. He's a respectful man. So you have to honor him. I would have guessed that means put out some cake. You know buy some Brooklyn Bakery, something get something a little bit exciting. So he said no no dice. They said okay how about water in a pitcher with water you know like please can you put out for the Prime Minister? And the Hazon Ish wouldn't have giving a Jew a cup of water based on him that he's not going to make a Bracha. So eventually he decided a good idea. He put out the water with one cup with one cup cuz he knew that he was an honorable man. He won't drink himself if the other person's not drinking with him. So since there's only one cup So then he understood that the the Ben Gurion himself didn't drink and that's really what happened. There's many things that happened over there but that's not the point. The idea here is that when it came to upholding the law he kept to the Ramons Siman Aleph that says that we don't give any type of we don't give in to anything and that's why he was known as the Hazon Ish. Ish is from Avraham Yishayahu and he was Hazon he saw the future. He built the future. He was the father of all the Yeshivot here. He was the one who was able to build with a strength this whole entire place. He on purpose went to Bnei Brak and not to Jerusalem cuz he said in Jerusalem there are enough Tzadikim, there's enough going on there. I'm going to Bnei Brak which was an empty barren Tilon land, there was nothing there. And these are the words that he said I Yeshiva Hadasha Matzati Midbar. I found an empty an empty land and a new Yeshiva Bnei Brak. Retziti Lishtol Banatiot Shel Torah. I wanted to plant Torah inside of there in order to turn it into an order and therefore he says I came to Bnei Brak in order to make it into a Makom Torah. Don't forget Bnei Brak is right next to Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan. It's not exactly for those who are familiar, it's not exactly the most kosher place around. And he said these words, if I don't make it, I'll go to Gehenna together with everybody else. But if I am I do well, then I'll go to Eden together with them. Well, he built so I think I guess we can all guess together where he's located right now. Right? The amount that he was able to do. So this is our incredible man that is known as as the died during this time period. There's a lot to say to him. I don't want to make it too long, but at least we have to realize and this is the main crux what I want to get to. As sweet and able as his natural tendencies was, he knew how to push when it needed to push. He knew how to fight for when it needed to be fought for. He held his ground and that's why he became a that's why he was the Israel who loved and ran and runs this country till this day. The second from the still run all over and most of the country because when it comes to the tell me writes in the beginning of all of it.