Once, Maran Rav Chaim zatzal was at the home of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870-1953) zt”l. Rav Isser Zalman related to him that the statement of Rav Yoseph on Sotah 49b that humility did not cease to exist because there is “ana” is, actually, not so strange.. How so? Because he had a tradition from the Vilna Gaon that there was, in fact, a Tanna by the name of, “Anah.”

Later, at his annual siyum of tractate Sotah he related the incident and explained that, at the time, he had thought to himself that there is no Tanna whose name was, “Anah.” There is, however, a Yerushalmi in Shabbos (6:5) where there is someone named, “annan” and some have the girsah, “Chanan” and the Vilna Gaon may have had the girsah, “Anah.”

The reason he did not voice any of this is because it would not have been proper derech eretz to say this in front of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer zt”l. We see from this incident, not only Rav Chaim’s remarkable grasp of Kol haTorah Kullah even seventy years ago, but also his remarkable tzidkus and derech eretz.

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