Ten Years Since the Petirah of Rav Chaim Shlomo Leibowitz zt”l: “We Grew Up in Yerushalayim, But the Spirit in Our Home Was That of Rav Boruch Ber”
This past Shabbos, the olam haTorah and the olam hayeshivos marked ten years since the histalkus of the rosh yeshiva, Rav Chaim Shlomo Leibowitz zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Ponovezh and Kaminetz. In connection with the yahrtzeit, the Bamah magazine published an extensive interview with his son, Rav Uziel Leibowitz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Birchas Shmuel, reflecting on the personality, legacy, and enduring influence of his father.
“The loss in the olam haTorah and in the yeshivos is deeply felt,” Rav Uziel said. “At the same time, divreihem heim zichronam. He merited that his Torah spread throughout the entire world in a remarkable way.” Rav Uziel noted that both during his father’s lifetime and after his petirah, they were privileged to establish the mamleches haTorah Birchas Shmuel in Eretz Yisroel in his memory. Asked what it was like to grow up in the shadow of such a towering father, Rav Uziel spoke with great emotion.
He began by explaining that although they grew up in their father’s home, their father himself lived every moment with the image of his own father and grandfather before him. Everything he did followed the path that had been charted by his grandfather, the great rosh yeshiva Rav Boruch Ber. “We grew up in Yerushalayim,” Rav Uziel explained, “but in truth the spirit in our home was that of Rav Boruch Ber.” Their mother would often remark that their father did not merely remember Rav Boruch Ber, nor did he only study his approach. He lived Rav Boruch Ber. The entire course of his life was shaped by that towering figure, constantly seeking to learn from him the proper approach to Torah study and to life itself.
Rav Uziel described how his father’s entire lifestyle reflected the grandeur of an earlier era of great gaonim. In their home one could observe concepts and standards that were rarely seen elsewhere. When a person grows up with the living example of someone like Rav Boruch Ber guiding every step of life, he explained, one reaches levels that belong to earlier generations of greatness which we can hardly comprehend today.
He recalled the famous statement of his father’s rebbe, Maran HaGriz Soloveitchik zt”l, who once said about Rav Chaim Shlomo when he was only eighteen years old that just as Rav Boruch Ber had been the Rav Boruch Ber of the previous generation, Rav Chaim Shlomo would be the Rav Boruch Ber of the current generation. The Griz then cited the pasuk “עטרת זקנים בני בנים,” applying it to Rav Boruch Ber and Rav Chaim Shlomo.
After Rav Chaim Shlomo’s petirah, many remarked that with his histalkus the final living edition—the mahadura basra—of the Birchas Shmuel had departed from the world.
Rav Uziel continued by explaining that his father constantly stressed the importance of aspiration. The foundation of greatness in Torah and yiras Shamayim, he would say, lies in one’s ambitions. He would quote his grandfather, Rav Boruch Dov Leibowitz, who explained that Rav Boruch Ber merited to become Rav Boruch Ber because his lifelong aspiration had been to reach the level of Rav Akiva Eiger. If his ambitions had been more modest, he would never have reached such heights.
His father would also repeat the teaching of the Levush Mordechai, Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein zt”l, who said in his talks that the very foundation—the aleph-beis—of a ben yeshiva is the aspiration to become a gadol hador. A true ben yeshiva never settles for mediocrity but constantly strives to grow in Torah to the greatest extent possible.
This, Rav Uziel said, was the way his father lived. In matters of olam hazeh his life was marked by extraordinary simplicity. Anyone who entered his home could immediately see that this world was merely a corridor leading to Torah study and the fulfillment of mitzvos. But when it came to Torah itself there was no concept of limitation or contentment with less. There were no fixed hours for eating or sleeping; his entire day and night revolved around Torah. His life was completely immersed in Torah, in amalus baTorah, in striving in Torah, and in total dedication to Torah.
Today, Rav Uziel added, they have merited to establish institutions where hundreds of talmidim learn, and the spirit in those yeshivos reflects the same ideal — the aspiration for greatness in Torah, yiras Shamayim, and refined middos.
He also recalled hearing from one of the sons of the Griz that when the Griz wanted to teach his own children how to grow in Torah, he would tell them to look at Rav Chaim Shlomo and learn from his example.
When asked what it meant to be both the son and the foremost talmid of such a figure, Rav Uziel replied that to have a father who is also one’s rebbe muvhak — or conversely, a rebbe muvhak who is also one’s father — is an extraordinary gift from Shamayim. Throughout one’s life one has before him a living example who is both a fatherly figure and a spiritual mentor. In the presence of such a personality, he said, it becomes impossible to deviate even slightly.
In that context, the teaching aseh lecha rav takes on its fullest meaning. A genuine talmid connects to his rebbe with the same closeness that a son has to his father.
Rav Uziel noted that his father once told him in the name of the Griz that the pasuk “v’shinantam l’vanecha” refers to students because the phrase implies that the words of Torah must be sharp and precise in one’s mouth — something that only a true rebbe can instill in his talmidim.
The entire concept of what a rebbe and a talmid truly are, Rav Uziel said, had already been deeply ingrained in their family by their grandfather, Rav Boruch Ber.
He described how they witnessed the complete bitul their father showed toward his own father and teacher. Every aspect of his life — his limud, his thinking, even the exact wording he used when discussing a sugya — was shaped by how his father and grandfather had understood it. Before making any decision he would ask himself what his father and grandfather would have said or done.
Rav Uziel recalled the visible joy his father would experience after delivering a shiur klali in which he felt he had succeeded in accurately explaining the teachings of his father and grandfather.
He also described a conversation he once had with Maran Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l. Rav Elyashiv told him with great emotion that he still vividly remembered seeing Rav Chaim Shlomo learning with his father in the beis medrash Ohel Sarah. Rav Elyashiv said he could never forget the extraordinary bitul Rav Chaim Shlomo displayed toward his father.
Rav Uziel emphasized that his father’s talmidim felt a deep closeness and love from him, like sons. That relationship between rebbe and talmid, he said, was something his father had learned from Rav Boruch Ber, for whom the concept that talmidim are like children was not merely an idea but a living reality.
Rav Uziel also recalled a conversation he had with Maran Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l. Rav Shteinman told him that when he was young he had spent time in Kaminetz and had been instructed by his father to carefully observe the conduct of Rav Boruch Ber. Rav Shteinman said that even people who had not learned in the yeshiva could sense Rav Boruch Ber’s holiness and righteousness.
At the end of their conversation, Rav Shteinman asked Rav Uziel whether he knew why Rav Boruch Ber merited that his Torah is studied everywhere. Rav Uziel replied that this was precisely the type of question one asks in order to hear the daas Torah of the rosh yeshiva. Rav Shteinman then explained that it was because of Rav Boruch Ber’s extraordinary dedication to his talmidim. Because of that devotion, the talmidim in turn devoted themselves completely to continuing and spreading his Torah.
Rav Uziel added that his father himself displayed tremendous respect for every ben yeshiva and every talmid. He would speak to them with great honor and would never dismiss a student’s question as incorrect. Instead, he would strengthen the question and suggest what the student might have intended to ask. Often he would present the answer as emerging from the student’s own question so that the talmid would leave feeling he had discovered a genuine chiddush.
Rav Uziel also shared that his father would frequently spend Shabbos and Yom Tov recounting stories about the great gedolim of earlier generations. He would describe the events with remarkable detail, explaining what happened and why. Through these stories, Rav Uziel said, listeners could almost relive the experiences and absorb the ideals, yiras Shamayim, and values of those earlier generations.
This practice, he noted, also came from Rav Boruch Ber, who saw telling stories about the gedolei Yisroel as a powerful way to acquire yiras Shamayim and refined middos.
In conclusion, Rav Uziel spoke about the founding of the mamleches haTorah Birchas Shmuel in Eretz Yisroel. He said that his father had long cherished the aspiration that such a place of Torah be established in the spirit of Rav Boruch Ber, where future generations of bnei yeshiva could grow according to that tradition.
Indeed, with great siyata d’Shmaya they have merited to establish several institutions of Torah bearing the name Birchas Shmuel. The remarkable success they have seen, he said, is surely in the merit of their great grandfather Rav Boruch Ber and of his father Rav Chaim Shlomo Leibowitz zt”l, whose influence they continue to feel guiding the mekomos haTorah where new generations are growing and flourishing in Torah.
{Matzav.com}
