Friday, October 22, 2010

Chazon Ish

Tomorrow is the yahrtzeit of the chazon ish. I don't typically do this, but since the chazon ish didn't have children, his legacy is primarily in his seforim and partially in appreciating who he was.
There is a story about the chazon ish recorded in the sefer of R. Yitzchok Eliyahu Henkin (section of hespeidim pg. 195) recalling an episode that took place 93 years ago - תרע"ד לבריאת העולם
R. Henkin tells that he was a rebbi in the city Stoypzi and he went to visit the Rav of the city R. Yoel Sorotzkin. He saw a young man pacing back and forth wearing very simple clothing. He asked the young man, "who are you?", to which he responded "the son of the rav from kosvo". "What do you do? - a store owner. Do you set aside time for Torah study? - when there is time. What are you doing here in the house of the Rav? - the rav called me." R. Henkin writes that he assumed that he must have a monetary dispute and came for a din torah. Afterwards R. Henkin writes, he found out that this young man wrote a brilliant sefer and teh Rav called him to substitute for him to pasken the shailos in the town while he is away. R. Henkin writes that he spent 6 months talking in learning with the chazon ish and in every area he was fully knowledgeable of every detail getting down to the truth of the Torah.
R. Henkin relates that for every difficult question R. Chaim Ozer would say "let's go consult the chazon ish". He became a leader without being formally appointed. A leader who was hidden until the end - מי יתן לנו תמורתו

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