Five minutes later, the young man
emerged from the Mashgiach’s office
with a huge smile; he had been accept-
ed! At that point, I asked him about his
background. The young man, Shaul,
had attended a university in Holland
where he was an honor student major-
ing in mathematics. Then World War II
erupted and Shaul was sent to a slave
labor camp, where he remained for the
duration of the war. And now he want-
ed to learn Torah, though he had no
learning background at all.
I did not understand. The level of
learning in Chevron was known to be
high. How did this young man expect to
keep up, to grasp the shiurim? Gently, I
broached the question.
Shaul was not daunted. “I was not
accepted for what I know, I was accept-
ed for what I will know.”
Together, we entered the beis me-
drash of the Chevron Yeshiva and, prob-
ably for the first time in his life, Shaul
observed the sight of hundreds of bnei
Torah learning in pairs, their voices
raised in rischa d’Oraysa, the passionate
give-and-take of in-depth Torah study.
Shaul could not hold back his tears; he
cried and I cried along with him.
From that day on, Shaul spent ev-
ery available moment at his Gemara.
Combining brilliance with unequaled
diligence, he quickly made great strides in
his learning. Before long, he was known
as one of Chevron’s prize talmidim.
I had the zechus to learn privately
every Friday with a great gaon, Rav
Leizer Palchinsky zt”l (a son-in-law of
Rav Aryeh Levin zt”l). One Friday, he
told me that he had visited the Chazon
Ish, who had inquired about Shaul in
connection with a possible shidduch.
I told Rav Leizer that he was one of
Chevron Yeshiva’s best bachurim.
The following week Rav Leizer told
me that the bachur had traveled to Bnei
Brak to meet the Chazon Ish, and after
the meeting, the Chazon Ish told Rav
Leizer that this bachur was a rare met-
zuyan. The Chazon Ish was the shadchan
who arranged this bachur’s shidduch.
This bachur was Harav Shaul
Barzam, zt”l, who married the daugh-
ter of the Steipler Gaon, zt”l, and was a
brother-in-law of, ybl”c, Harav Chaim
Kanievsky, shlita.
Bederech sheadam rotzeh leileich
molichin oso. Rav Shaul Barzam ar-
rived at Chevron knowing absolutely
nothing in Torah. But his ratzon, his de-
sire was incredible. He was determined
to become a talmid chacham. True, he
was blessed with outstanding abilities,
but this was not the key to his success.
The key was his ratzon.
Let me share with you another
incident that happened when I was a
young bachur at Chevron.
The Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Yechezkel
Sarna, zt”l, had a close relationship
with Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l and on
Rav Aharon’s visits to Eretz Yisrael,
Rav Sarna would invite him to deliver a
shiur in the Chevron Yeshiva. Watching
Rav Aharon deliver a shiur was an un-
‘‘
Rav Aharon was about to say. It hap-
pened a few times during the shiur that
Rav Simcha Zissel’s comments were on
the mark. It was truly amazing.
A day or two later, I visited the gaon
Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer zt”l. An older
bachur who had attended the shiur was
also visiting. He spoke of Rav Simcha
Zissel’s quickness and indeed, Rav Isser
Zalman said that “Zissel” was light-
ning-quick. The bachur then expressed
his frustration that he would never at-
tain the level of Torah knowledge of Rav
Simcha Zissel or those like him.
Rav Isser Zalman disagreed. “The
difference between an ilui and one
who is not an ilui is half an hour.” In
other words, through ameilus, toil,
the non-ilui can attain the same as the
ilui, though it will take him longer. Rav
Isser Zalman added, “And ultimately,
the non-ilui can even surpass the ilui
A major part of success in learning is the
ratzon, the sincere desire to grow. Every one
of you can become an adam gadol. Don’t
judge yourself by what you know but by
what you will know.
forgettable experience. He was a soul
aflame as he built his “edifice,” con-
structing his shiur level upon level in a
way that revealed his utter genius.
Once, Rav Sarna invited Rav
Aharon to deliver a shiur in his home to
a select group. Maggidei shiur from the
Chevron Yeshiva, distinguished guests
from Yerushalayim and the best of
Chevron’s talmidim would be in atten-
dance. I was a young bachur and was
not invited, but my desire to see and
hear Rav Aharon was so strong that I
could not stay away.
One of the young men attending
the shiur was Rav Simcha Zissel Broide
zt”l, who later became Chevron Rosh
Yeshiva. Rav Simcha Zissel was an ilui
(genius) and as the shiur proceeded, he
was able to anticipate the chiddush that
through his ameilus.”
And I say that a major part of suc-
cess in learning is the ratzon, the sincere
desire to grow. This is the “secret” that
I wish to impart to you, dear talmidim.
Every one of you can become an adam
gadol. Even if right now your Torah
knowledge is not up to par — don’t
judge yourself by what you know but
by what you will know.
Your yeshiva and your Rosh
HaYeshiva are renowned. Your Rosh
HaYeshiva is renowned for his caring
and devotion. I am sure that there is
not one bachur here who cannot be-
come an adam gadol. It takes ratzon
and it takes effort. !
For audio, visit Darchei.org/RavEzrachi
or contact [email protected]
BEDARCHEI HATORAH
WINTER 5780/2020
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