Reply To: Chofetz Chaim Guys in CR

“Is this the Chofetz Chaim of Radin yeshiva in Monsey everyone is talking about? Because really, they have the true mesorah of the Chofetz Chaim.”

No it’s not; and they do not either. Rav Dovid Leibowitz was the nephew of the CC – he learned with him for 9 hours a day and helped to write the mishnah berurah – he started the “national” CC, which has the real mesorah in learning from the CC’s yeshiva in Radin.

Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky ZT”L, when encouraging the yeshiva to open up a branch in Miami Beach, told Rabbi Bentzion Chait YBLC”T that The Rosh Hayeshiva, Rav Henoch Leibowitz ZT”L, and his father were the ONLY ones who ran a Yeshiva in the derech of Slabodka. Rav Ruderman ZT”L never claimed to be running a Slabodka-style yeshiva. Rav Aharon Kotler ZT”L, his focus on Torah “lishmah” as opposed to going out and making a difference in the world, and his kana’us were NOT Slabodka style. Rav Aharon ZT”L never claimed to be following the Slabodka style either. Rav Hutner ZT”L switched to Machshavah because he felt that Americans couldn’t handle mussar. Rav Kaminetzky ZT”L never headed a yeshiva- he was always an employee and was under someone else’s thumb. However, he spoke very approvingly about the fact that the yeshiva kept up the Slabodka Mesorah of mussar. In fact, he encouraged the yeshiva to open a branch in Miami despite the fact that a relative of his already had a yeshiva there! You can speak to Rabbi Bentzion Chait to verify this, or speak to one of Rav Kaminetzky’s sons

When Reb Dovid was not yet 20 years old, Rav Naftali testified that Reb Dovid was already a lamdan. During his time in Radin, he learned with his great-uncle the Chofetz Chaim, zt’l, as his chavrusah (study partner) while the Chofetz Chaim wrote the final part of the Mishnah Berurah and learned with him hilchos sukkah. Reb Dovid related to the rosh yeshiva, zt’l, that his learning seder with the Chofetz Chaim was from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. each and every day.

In 1908, the Chofetz Chaim said to Reb Dovid, “You can learn; now go become a ba’al mussar,” and he sent him to the world-famous Torah leader, the Alter of Slabodka, zt’l. It was there that Reb Dovid found his rebbi for life. He became attached to the Alter, heart and soul, and became one of his closest talmidim. As a matter of fact, Reb Dovid once confided to the Rosh HaYeshiva, zt’l, that the Alter had wanted him to join the hanhalah of the yeshiva, but, for reasons that he didn’t explain, he demurred

The mashgiach of the yeshiva, HaRav Shmuel Niman, shlita, who came to the yeshiva in 1947 after hearing about the rosh yeshiva’s blatt shiur, said publicly in his sheloshim hesped of his rebbi of almost 60 years, that the two years that he spent in the blatt shiur were the best years of his life. (This from an individual who has been saying his own shiur for half a century). HaRav Dovid Chait, shlita, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Eretz Yisrael, described it best when he said in his hesped of the rosh yeshiva, “The blatt shiur was not a shiur; it was a training ground for life.” HaRav Simcha Sheinberg from Yeshiva Torah Ohr related to the author that his father, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Ohr in Yerushalayim, HaRav Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg, shlita, was for more than 20 years the mashgiach in the yeshiva, and had originally sent his son to the Telz yeshiva in Cleveland for mesivta in order to keep him away from the many distractions so prevalent in the Lower East Side in the 40s and 50s, and he stayed there for five years. It was then that his father called him back to attend the rosh yeshiva’s blatt shiur. His father explained, “Just as Reb Dovid’s pilpul shiurim were classic, so too is Reb Henoch’s blatt shiur a classic; there is no other like it.”

Rav Leizer Yudel Finkel ZT”L told the rosh Hayeshiva ZT”L that Rav Dovid Leibowitz was the closest talmid of HIS father, the Alter ZT”L. Rav Leizer Yudel ZT”L is one who can make a substantive claim in this regard, and he did so.

The yeshiva does have a bekiyus seder where one is expected to cover ground. however, one can’t just quickly read an acharon and understand what he’s saying. The Maharsha and the Maharam wouldn’t write anythign that they didn’t go over in depth with their talmidim. Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky ZT”L approvingly described the yeshiva’s derech as the “derech Hamaharam Schiff”. You just can’t figure out the depth of the Maharam Schiff with a cursory reading. Just because it’s not written in the style of the Griz’ notebooks doesn’t mean it’s not there. Rav Kaminetzky ZT”L was the paragon of emes, and wouldn’t say a lie to placate the yeshiva of his old chavrusa. Rav yaakov Kaminetzky ZT”L also said that today’s Talmidim don’t have the proper respect for the words of the acharonim. As the acharonim are closer to Har Sinai than we are, it makes sense to be cautious when understanding their words. There is a reason Rabbi Akiva eiger didn’t just answer his kashyes with a “cheftza gavra” svara pulled out of a hat. His kashyas were based on emes, and sevaras pulled out of a hat which cannot be read into the gemara or rishon are just not emes.

Correct, emphasis on emes and on understanding the Torah of ones greater than you instead of varfing your own sevaras restrict your “creativity”. you Torah is then closer to emes instead of sheker. Emes is always restricting. Rav Shach came out with his famous kol koreh against iyun because, as he explained, bachurim fill up notebooks with their own sevaros at 18, and at 24 they realize that all of them are sheker. As they have no bekiyus they are left with nothing. If they do bekiyus they at least walk away with something emes. The Chofetz chaim style of iyun is designed to get around this problem- the stress is on emes, and what not to say, as opposed to filling up notebooks with “Toyrah”.

The connection between the yeshiva’s focus on mussar and the result of its products can’t be ignored. We describe Hashem as Rachum, Chanun, Gomeil Chasadim, Tov uMeitiv, etc. In other words, Hashem is the epitome of middos and mussar. How can anyone knock the yeshiva’s derech on this if it is producing tzelamei Elokim who emulate Hashem? Torah is supposed to teach us Daas torah- in other words, we are supposed to develop a kesher with Hashem and have our minds think more closely like Hashem’s than like mortals (Maharal, Nefesh Hachaim, etc). If Chofetz Chaim is producing such walking embodiments of Hashem’s derech of behavior, they must be closer to the emes than the velt chooses to admit.