Why did close to a million people go to this rabbi’s funeral?

Imagine discovering at the earliest age a passion for an endeavor for which you have an abundance of natural talent and skill. Add to that the head start of growing up surrounded by the giants in your chosen field, who closely mentor your progress. For decades, thousands flock to your home seeking sagely advice, and you produce dozens of scholarly volumes on the entire breadth and depth of your chosen field.

Add to that a single-minded focus and unwavering devotion to the goal – day after day, year after year – for 94 years.

That was the life of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky – the undisputed Prince of Torah (Sar HaTorah) – who was buried March 20, 2022 in the city of Bnei Brak in central Israel, as hundreds of thousands converged to pay their last respects.

Early Years

Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky was born in 1928 in Pinsk, now Belarus. His father, Rabbi Yaakov Y. Kanievsky, was the widely revered Steipler Ga’on. When Chaim was six, the Kanievsky family moved to Israel. On the sea voyage, Chaim sat day after day with his father, absorbed in Torah study. As they neared the shores of the Holy Land, they were about to complete study of Exodus, when suddenly his father kissed the book and closed it. “Let’s wait until we arrive,” he explained, “so we can celebrate in the Holy Land.”

This gave young Chaim not only an appreciation for the preciousness of Torah study, but also love for the land of Israel. Since then, he never departed the borders of Israel, and became a lifetime advocate for aliyah, encouraging people to move to Israel.

Rav Chaim’s childhood home was the center of the Torah world, with people from around the world gathering there to confer with some of the greatest rabbis of the 20th century. Besides his revered father, Rav Chaim’s uncle was Rabbi Avraham Y. Karelitz (the Chazon Ish), the premier Torah leader during the critical years of Israeli independence. The Chazon Ish, himself childless, showered Rav Chaim with constant tutelage and individual attention, grooming him in the art of Torah scholarship.

Rav Chaim, a child prodigy with a photographic memory, elucidated complex talmudic teachings at a young age. As a boy, he studied at Yeshiva Tiferes Tzion in Bnei Brak, amusing himself during recess breaks – not with a ball or board game – but by counting the number of times

various sages are quoted in the Talmud. For his bar mitzvah, he completed the Babylonian Talmud (Shas), a feat that many do not manage to achieve in a lifetime. Rav Chaim married Batsheva, the daughter of Judaism’s leading legal decisor, Rabbi Yosef S. Elyashiv (and granddaughter of Rabbi Aryeh Levine, the beloved Tzaddik of Jerusalem). Rav Chaim’s illustrious lineage was unmatched, although that alone is insufficient to ensure success. Metaphorically, “nine zeros is not a billion” unless an actual number is added in front. So too, Rav Chaim was surrounded by Judaism’s leading sages, but what he added at the beginning made it all count.

Torah Study

Rav Chaim was a private citizen, leading no synagogue or yeshiva, and with no official teaching or rabbinic position. For years, he occupied a nondescript seat in Kollel Chazon Ish, conducting uninterrupted in-depth research and writing. Once, as a young man, he considered taking a paid position, but his father said: “Your contribution is to sit and learn. Period.” With commitment and diligence, Rav Chaim never wavered from that advice, becoming this generation’s paradigm of nonstop Torah study.

Inside Rav Chaim’s modest home on Rashbam Street, every room and hallway were lined with bookshelves, crammed with thousands of Torah books. On Shabbat, Rav Chaim would play a game with his children. One of them would name a book title, and Rav Chaim would entertain the children by immediately telling them its precise location among the volumes filling every inch of wall space.

Rav Chaim maintained a breathtaking schedule, waking at 2am for a rigorous 20-hour-a-day study of the entire biblical and rabbinic corpus including Tanach, Mishnah, the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud, Midrashim, Zohar, and all the primary works of Jewish law: Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, Tur, Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), and Mishnah Berurah.

Rav Chaim toiled day and night, saying that the mental energy expended on Torah study is more physically taxing than digging ditches or laying bricks. Few people manage to study so many intricate works in a lifetime. Rav Chaim completed them all – every single year.

The Kanievsky’s had a small apartment, and the young children slept in a room filled to the brim with beds. When a wealthy visitor once offered to buy them a spacious house, they declined, explaining that it encourages people to see that economic hardship does not preclude devotion to Torah study.

Rav Chaim learned before dawn with a study partner and they wanted to be able to awaken and study right away. Despite the already over-crowded conditions, a spot was found for the study partner to sleep in the Kanievsky’s apartment on a regular basis.

Rav Chaim published dozens of volumes that are modern classics, including Derech Emunah, Derech Chochma, Shoneh Halachos, and Ta’ama D’kra. With unparalleled breadth of knowledge, Rav Chaim was uniquely qualified in obscure topics of Jewish law, such as lunar cycles, and agricultural laws in Israel. In his lectures, Rav Kanievsky delivered groundbreaking

commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud, which are the basis of a book by his son-in-law Rabbi Zelig Leib Braverman.

Additionally, Rav Chaim authored tens of thousands of rabbinic responsa on nearly every conceivable aspect of Torah. Each week he would sequester himself in a room with stacks of hundreds of letters, and patiently responded to every single one. Due to the sheer volume and to maximize his time, Rav Chaim’s responses were record-breakingly brief – typically a single line, and were often limited to one word in microscopic letters, occasionally adding a reference to the Jewish codes.

Rav Chaim made an art out of brevity. When delivering words of encouragement, to save precious seconds, he invented the word “Boo-ha,” an acronym for “blessings and success.”

Servant of the People

As the world’s most learned sage, Rav Chaim had insights into every possible dilemma – personal, communal, or global. Despite his reluctance to take a position of public leadership, tens of thousands of people from around the world – politicians, businesspeople, educators, and foreign dignitaries – flocked to Rav Chaim’s modest home on Rashbam Street.

At appointed times each day, the steep staircase outside Rav Chaim’s home would be lined with visitors waiting to enter, with lines often snaking around his house. Thousands would enter his inner chamber for blessings, inspiration, and sage advice from this humble human being, endowed with Divine guidance. Preferential treatment was given to little boys celebrating their third birthday, the day of their upsherin (first haircut), as Rav Chaim recognized the challenge of asking young children to wait in line.

For most of Rav Chaim’s life, he left decisions on communal matters to others. A few years ago, when I went to consult with Rav Chaim regarding a project of communal concern, he listened to my question and then, characteristically, sent me to consult with his Bnei Brak colleague, Rabbi A.Y.L. Shteinman. Rav Chaim often expressed tremendous gratitude to Rabbi Shteinman for shouldering that burden of responsibility, enabling Rav Chaim to continue his studies uninterrupted.

Wealth Is Not Limited to Money

Rav Chaim was renowned for being honored multiple times – every day – as sandek, holding the baby at a bris milah. Serving as sandek is considered a merit for becoming wealthy, and someone once asked Rav Chaim, “If you serve so often as sandek, why are you not wealthy?” He replied that “wealth” is not limited to money, and quoted his father that wealth is attained by publishing Torah commentaries. Rav Chaim added his own opinion that grandchildren are a source of tremendous wealth.

Rav Chaim’s time was highly structured, and keeping to such a rigorous schedule comes with intendant risks, particularly regarding one’s private life. Rebbetzin Kanievsky had every right to voice opposition to this hyper-focus on Torah study, which ostensibly came at her expense. Yet, she was his biggest supporter. Someone once made Rav Chaim a generous offer, which involved

him spending two minutes not related to Torah study or community matters. Rav Chaim presented the proposal to his wife, who nixed the idea, saying that two additional minutes of Torah study were worth more to her than anything else.

Battling Amalek

Fittingly, Rav Chaim passed away on Shushan Purim, a day when Haman – descendant of the biblical Amalek – fought to annihilate the Jewish people. Amalek represents ideologies antithetical to Torah; the best weapon we have against that is the study and practice of Torah. For 94 years, Rav Chaim Kanievsky fulfilled that mandate to the utmost.

Editor’s Note

Rav Chaim’s greatness, accomplishments, and contributions to the Jewish Nation could fill volumes. However, as his sudden passing occurred just a couple of days before our deadline, we were, unfortunately, unable to put together a proper tribute to this Torah giant in the current issue of Community. We will, please Gd, include a more extensive tribute in the next issue. We join the family, rabbis, and all world Jewry in mourning this great loss.

Rabbi Shraga Simmons is the co-founder of Aish.com, and co-author of “48 Ways to Wisdom” (ArtScroll). He is also the Founder and Director of Aish.com’s advanced learning site.

Reprinted with permission from Aish.com.

Visitors to Magen David Yeshivah High School’s gym last February were treated to the sight of some 385 students huddled in groups engaged in animated discussions about a topic that one might think only involves Jews halfway around the world. They learned that, in fact, the mitzvot involved in shemittah, the Sabbatical year, (which is happening now) are important for all of us.

Magen David Yeshivah was proud to host NCSY educators for a spiritually uplifting and meaningful Yom Iyun, a communal day of learning, centered around these beautiful and complex mitzvot.

Shemittah refers to the sabbatical year, which is observed in the Land of Israel. Farmers are dictated by the Torah to leave their land unfarmed and unharvested during this year. It may seem like an archaic concept to contemporary U.S. teens, but Jews in Israel from North to South have learned about the laws of shemittah in order to observe them. This includes both professional farmers as well as city dwellers who happen to have a fruit tree in their yard or herbs growing in their herb garden.

Day of Learning Planned as Team Effort

MDY is dedicated to bringing Torah to life for its students. Since they were aware of NCSY’s excellent educational programming, the MDY staff recruited NCSY to lead an informative and dynamic day of learning for their students.

“NCSY provided our students with a meaningful, interactive, thoughtful program that spoke to the core values of the laws of shemittah, connected our students to the larger Jewish world, and gave our students an opportunity to reflect on their own values,” said Esther Tokayer, MDY’s Assistant Principal.

The Yom Iyun was led by Rabbi Josh Grajower, NCSY’s Director of Day School Engagement, and a team of NCSY educators.

After a video presentation featuring farmers in Israel discussing the challenges of observing the mitzvot related to shemittah, students split into six groups led by NCSY staff. The groups rotated, and with each rotation they focused on different ways to connect to the mitzvah of shemittah. In one group they wrote letters to show their gratitude and give support to these selfless farmers. In another group the students did an activity in which they discussed their personal priorities and life values. In a third group the students discussed the emunah shown by the farmers and how they can inculcate that level of emunah into their own lives.

“It was such a privilege and pleasure to be able to run our Shemittah Yom Iyun at Magen David Yeshiva where students were extremely engaged in the activities with our staff. The interactions were genuine and meaningful,” said Rabbi Grajower. “The gym had an incredible energy as we had six groups of NCSY staff educational activities with the students. It was clear that this was a unique experience for the students and one which definitely brought the meaning and purpose of shemittah to life for them.”

The Take Home Message

Rabbi Gideon Black, CEO of New York NCSY, closed the program. He told the students that farmers know their avoda (mission) this year is to leave their fields empty. They can be proud of their tremendous mesirat nefesh (self-sacrifice). Rabbi Black then challenged the students attending to discover their own personal “empty fields.” What for them would be a mitzvah equivalent to shemittah in their own lives that they will take ownership of and prioritize this year?

“I was deeply impressed by the caliber of the students’ and the questions they shared with NCSY’s team of educators,” said Rabbi Black. “Learning is more dynamic when it’s interactive, and Magen David should be very proud of its students for fully engaging with the material presented as they strived to relate it to their own lives.”

Rabbi Mikey Albala, NCSY’s new Chief Development Officer, commented, “NCSY has so much to offer Jewish teens of any community, and we are thankfully able to reach and inspire a diverse swath of young adults who thirst for spiritual inspiration and a way to relate their religion and heritage to their everyday lives. I very much look forward to continuing to build on this incredible partnership between NCSY and Brooklyn’s Sephardic community.”

Lena (not her real name), 31, a new immigrant to Israel from the Ukraine, describes her family’s story. “My two children and I are without my husband, their father, who had to stay behind to fight in the army. Three days ago, we brought my mother to be with us. We scrambled to leave our apartment in Kyiv and got in the car to go towards the border with Poland, where we could get out and then get on a plane to Israel. We left everything behind. I believe we barely escaped with our lives because I heard that our building got bombed. I’m glad we made it out, but I don’t know how I can make a new life here in Israel. I’m just living one day at a time. We need food, a place to sleep, and I need formula and diapers for my little one…”

Israel Again Called On To Be a Safe Haven for Jews

Israel is known as a refuge for new immigrants. Once again, Israel has been called upon to absorb Jews in distress. The new refugees from Ukraine present special challenges, as many have fled with little but the shirts on their backs, and their journey to Israel was truly harrowing, making them feel especially vulnerable.

Thousands of new immigrants from war-torn Ukraine, including orphans, have arrived in Israel. Israeli government officials estimate that tens of thousands more will immigrate in the coming weeks. Yad Ezra V’Shulamit is working with the Israeli government to get food to Ukrainian refugees in Israel, distributing both food baskets and vouchers.

These new immigrants to Israel have experienced real trauma. It is hard enough for the new immigrants to cope with dramatic life changes and the fear they experienced with intense worries for themselves and their loved ones. We Jews are known as rachmanim b’nei rachmanim – compassionate children of compassionate parents. As such, it is not surprising that a number of Jewish organizations, such as Yad Ezra V’Shulamit, have stepped up to the plate to ease the immigrants’ burdens so that they will have food to eat and basic supplies. Yad Ezra V’Shulamit, which provides 10,000 food baskets to the needy in Israel every week, has opened a special

warehouse in Bat Yam to help serve the needs of the new Ukrainian refugees. Volunteers from across Israel have joined together and are filling baskets to provide sustenance for the new immigrants.

Group Effort Needed to Help New Ukrainian Immigrants

Israel is planning to take in hundreds of thousands of new immigrants. The Israeli government is committed to absorbing these new immigrants and helping them integrate into Israeli society. Many organizations are helping worldwide. Extensive resources are needed. These refugees first need help with the perilous journey to the Ukrainian border. They require basic food and supplies while in transit. And along the way they must stay in makeshift housing in host countries such as Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. And, then they need to be assigned to flights to Israel.

Once they arrive, they need temporary housing quarters, food, toiletries, and basics such as sheets, towels, clothing, and food.

Jews around the world have rallied to help their Ukrainian brothers and sisters to settle in Israel and reestablish their lives. The founder of the Yad Ezra V’Shulamit, Aryeh Lurie, said, “We can do this. If everyone gives a little, we can help everyone make it here in Israel.”

Please partner with Yad Ezra V’Shulamit here in Israel to help get Ukrainian orphans and families like Lena’s the food and assistance they so desperately need.

To donate, visit www.yadezra.net/ukraine.

As the war in Ukraine continues, people around the world are rallying around President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s unconventional, Jewish, 44-year-old leader. The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Volodymyr Zelensky was born January 25, 1978. He grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, the largest city in central Ukraine.

During World War II, the town of Kryvyi Rih was occupied by Nazi Germany. It was home to a sizeable Jewish community, and in the years before the Nazi takeover, many Jews fled eastward. Zelensky’s grandmother was one of the Jews who fled. “My grandmother was living in Kryvyi Rih, in a part of south Ukraine that was occupied by the fascists,” Zelensky explained. “They killed all the Jews who remained. She had left in an evacuation of Jews to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Many people fled to there. She studied there. She’s a teacher. After World II, she came back. That’s where I was born.”

Career as Comedian

Zelensky completed his law degree from Kyiv National Economic University, but never practiced law. He started acting in college and eventually founded his own production company called Kvartal 95 – “Neighborhood 95” – after the area in Kryvyi Rih where he grew up. He tried his hand at comedy and became a hit throughout the former Soviet Union, performing stand up and acting in some comic films. In 2006, he won Ukraine’s “Strictly Come Dancing” television competition. He has also performed in Israel.

President Zelensky

Campaigning for the presidency, Zelensky relied heavily on his comedy background, posting humorous speeches and skits on social media. His unusual campaigning style paid off: In Ukraine’s 2019 presidential election, Zelensky won an astonishing 73 percent of the vote.

His political career was not always smooth. He faced accusations of being close to corrupt figures and was accused of bringing in members of his TV production company to serve as key political advisors. Within days of his election, Russia declared a major provocation, extending Russian citizenship to people living in eastern Ukrainian regions controlled by separatist insurgents whom Russia was backing in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Zelensky responded to this major assault on Ukrainian territorial integrity with humor, posting on Facebook that he would extend Ukrainian citizenship to people in Russia and others “who suffer from authoritarian or corrupt regimes.”

Recognizing Jewish History

When Zelensky ran for office, the Chief Rabbi of Dnipro told the New York Times: “He should not run because we will have pogroms here again in two years if things go wrong.” Those fears proved misplaced. Indeed, Zelensky was open about his Jewishness. He oversaw an ongoing project to rename streets and monuments throughout Ukraine, erasing the names of Soviet figures and replacing them with Ukrainian heroes, including some Ukrainian Jews.

Zelensky began construction on a memorial at Babi Yar, the ravine outside Kyiv where 150,000 Jews were executed. The Ukrainian city of Uman is the burial place of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, and is a major site for Jewish pilgrims. On Rosh Hashana, Uman boasts the largest minyan in the world, as thousands of Jews flock to Uman from Israel and worldwide. Under Zelensky’s administration, a large project is underway in Uman. Zelensky stated, “In the city we are starting to construct a ‘Little Jerusalem.’ So, we have decided to construct a historical museum, to create a big park, and to reconstruct the synagogue [that Rabbi Nachman prayed in].”

Resolution in Wartime

In the first hours of the Russian attack on Ukraine, President Zelensky vowed to remain in Kiyv, Ukraine’s capital. On a video hastily recorded on a cellphone, he declared, “We are all here. Our soldiers are here. The citizens of our country are here…We are all here protecting our independence, our country, and it will continue to be this way. Glory to our defenders. Glory to our heroes. Glory to Ukraine.”

The eyes of the world stay glued to Zelensky and the Ukraine. Vladamir Putin did not expect resistance from the Ukrainians and thought his military action would be swift and relatively easy. Putin was mistaken. Tentative peace talks are underway and Zelensky has suggested Jerusalem as a possible venue for negotiations. The world is holding its breath.