Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski

Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was one of the greatest halachic authorities of the 20th century, Av Beit Din of the city of Vilna, and the author of the famous three-volume work "Achiezer." After the passing of Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, many considered him to be the spiritual leader of Lithuanian Jewry. Yahrzeit - 5 Av Resting place - Vilnius, Lithuania He was born in Ivye (Grodno region), where his father was a rabbi. He showed outstanding abilities from an early age. At 15 years old he began studying at the Volozhin Yeshiva and soon became the closest student of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik. By the age of 20 he had already become renowned among learned Jews as an illuy (prodigy). On the advice of his father he soon married the daughter of Eliezer Eliyahu Grodzinski, the Vilna dayan and son-in-law of Rav Yisrael Lipkin of Salant. Rav Chaim planned after the wedding to devote himself fully toTorah study in a kollel supported by his father-in-law, however in 1885 his father-in-law suddenly passed away and the Vilna community asked the young man to take his father-in-law's place. Rav Chaim had to agree and soon, despite his young age he rose to a leading role in the rabbinical court and in the Jewish community. In Vilnius since the time of the Vilna Gaon there had been no chief rabbi and all communal affairs were managed by a council of judges, one of whom was the unofficial chief rabbi. Soon after the appointment of Rav Grodzinski to the position of judge, a group of capable students gathered around him, to whom he delivered weekly lectures. The most renowned of them were Moshe Shatzkes, Yechezkel Abramsky, and Eliezer Silver. In 1939 after the partition of Poland and the transfer of the Vilna region to Lithuania, a massive wave of Jewish refugees poured into Vilnius. Rav Grodzinski tried to help them settle in, but his healthwas already undermined, and burdened with an unbearable load, he soon passed away. A main street in Petach Tikva bears his name. Many try on this day to study chapters from his book "Achiezer," give tzedakah in support of Torah study, and pray for wisdom in making right decisions. Eyewitnesses recalled that Rav Chaim Ozer had visitors almost around the clock: widows, orphans, refugees, students. Even while gravely ill, he continued to receive people and answer questions of halacha. Once his students asked him to rest for at least a few hours. He replied: "If I close the door, someone may lose their last hope." This story is often cited as an example of his extraordinary chesed. After the start of the Second World War, thousands of students from Polish yeshivot fled to Lithuania. Rav Chaim Ozer organized, through the Vaad HaYeshivot, the collection of funds, the search for housing and food, literally saving the world of Torah of Eastern Europe. ⁠The Chofetz Chaim often consulted with him. It is told that Yisrael Meir Kagan did not want to sign public statements until he heard the opinion of Rav Chaim Ozer, considering him one of the greatest sages of the generation. When he passed away, his contemporaries said: "The light of the Torah of Lithuania has gone out." Thousands of people came to his funeral — both local residents and the many refugee students of the yeshivot whom he had supported in the last years of his life. https://www.jewage.org/wiki/en/Article:Гродзинский,_Хаим_Озер_-_Биография