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Сила Теилим

4 Iyar · Yahrzeit

Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk – the "Beis HaLevi"

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk – the "Beis HaLevi" (1820-1892) – was born in Nesvizh, near Minsk, to Rav Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik. Yahrzeit – 4 Iyar Resting place – Grodno   Rav Yitzchak Ze'ev was, through his mother, a grandson of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. Although Rabbi Yitzchak Ze'ev was not a rabbi, he was a master of both Shas and Shulchan Aruch. By the time Yosef Dov turned ten, he knew Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, Bava Batra, Berachot, Gittin, and Kiddushin by heart, and was already writing his own chiddushim. When he was 11, his father brought him to Volozhin to study under his uncle, Rabbi Itzele, Rosh Yeshiva and son of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. After his marriage, his father-in-law supported him for thirteen years. In 1849, Rabbi Itzele of Volozhin passed away. Less than four years later, his successor, Rabbi Eliezer Yitzchak Fried, also passed away. The rabbanim decided that the yeshiva would be headed by two descendants of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the Netziv and the Beis HaLevi. The Netziv would serve as Rosh Yeshiva, and the Beis HaLevi would serve as his assistant.   The sefer "Beis HaLevi" consists mainly of shiurim that Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk delivered in Volozhin. His derech halimud (approach to learning) was something entirely new and original for the Volozhin Yeshiva, and differed greatly from the traditional method. His "Beis HaLevi" was published in 1863. In 1865, a delegation from the city of Slutsk came to present him with a ktav rabbanut (rabbinical appointment letter), signed by all the community's respected members and recommended by Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor (the Rav of Kovno). The "Beis HaLevi" served as rabbi of Slutsk for nearly ten years, but his unyielding struggle against the maskilim and the wealthy eventually forced him to leave the city. In 1865, a delegation from Brisk came to him and offered him the position of rav in place of Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, who had just moved to Eretz Yisrael. The "Beis HaLevi" served as rav of Brisk for 17 years, until his passing. Sipurei Tzadikim Before the Almighty, All Are Equal One day, one of the most respected and wealthy Jews of the city came to Rav Yosef Dov Ber Soloveitchik, author of "Beis HaLevi", to personally invite the rabbi to his son's bar mitzvah. Rav Yosef Dov asked whether the boy would be delivering a Torah discourse (a "drasha"), as is customary. The wealthy man smiled and said, "Rebbe, what are you talking about?! What drasha these days?" At that very moment, another man came to see the rav — a simple, poor Jew whose son had just turned 13. The poor man wanted to ask the rabbi for a blessing for his son. He had not invited the rav to the modest celebration being held for the bar mitzvah, since he could not even imagine that the rav would agree to come. Rav Yosef Dov asked the poor man whether his son was preparing a "drasha," and the poor man, shy and stammering, replied, "Yes, Rebbe, of course he is. Nothing special, but..." Rav Yosef Dov did not let him finish; he asked where the celebration would take place and immediately set off there, hiring a carriage at his own expense, pointedly ignoring the wealthy man's invitation. On another occasion, Rav Yosef Dov Ber Soloveitchik's son, Rav Chaim, who became rabbi of Brisk after his father's passing, was informed that two people had died in the city: a simple laborer and an important merchant. The poor Jew had died first, but the chevra kadisha (burial society) received a generous advance from the wealthy man's relatives to bury him first. Rav Chaim explained that according to halacha this could not be done: the one who died first must be buried first. However, the chevra kadisha ignored his ruling and went to the wealthy man's house, unwilling to lose the advance payment. Upon learning of this, Rav Chaim, known for his merciful and very gentle treatment of people, went to the wealthy man's house and drove out the members of the chevra kadisha with a stick. https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/354-Rabbi-Yosef-Dov-Yoshe-Ber-Solevetchik-of-Brisk May the merit of this tzadik protect Am Yisrael!