Yitzchak Hutner The Vision Before His Eyes By Matis Greenblatt

n a time when ideas and indi- ing sense of humor. Perhaps his wit had a direct line to one of the most Ividuals are classified and pigeonholed permitted joy rather than stress when original personalities of l9th century into neat boxes, it is well to study the conflicts were experienced; often there Jewr y. A child prod i g y , he was taught life and thought of a towering figure was a message which became palatable by private tutors and at l5 was brou g h t who defied easy categorization. Rabbi through wit. In commenting on the to the Slabodka Yes h i v a, ren o wned for Yitzchak Hutner, zt"l whose twentieth apparent miracle of 70 scholars segre- its blend of brilliant Torah learning and yahrzeit recently passed, was associated gated into 70 separate rooms all pro- a unique brand of mu s a r , which with particular institutions ( ducing the identical Greek translation em p h a s i z ed the greatness and grandeur Rabbi Jacob Joseph, Mesivta Rabbi of the Torah, he remarked that a of man, rather than his lowliness. Th e Chaim Berlin, Gur Aryeh, in greater miracle would have occurred founder and director of the yes h i va h America and Pachad Yitzchak and had they all been in the same room was Rabbi Noson Tzvi Finkel, known Kollel Ohr Eliyahu in ). But he and produced the same result. as the Alter. The Alter placed Yi t zc h a k was essentially a private individual A certain student in the yeshivah into a group of outstanding you n g who accepted official positions with was generally meticulous in his obser- men much older than he. They res e n t - reluctance. vance, but deficient in the respect he ed the intrusion of the rel a t i v e you n g - He sought to integrate many differ- gave his parents. Rav Hutner st e r , but wer e admonished by the Alter ent paths into his being. By choice remarked to him that mayim achronim for not recognizing that you n g rather than happenstance he became was not mentioned in the ten com- Yi t z chak was destined for greatness. intimate with the Chassidic worlds of mandments. A most unusual event occurred one Poland, the Lithuanian Misnagdic Shortly before Rav Hutner’s death, a shortly before N’eilah world, the different segments of nurse placed a pillow under his head soon after young Yitzchak’s arrival in German Orthodox Jewry and the and asked if he was comfortable Slabodka: the bais hamedrashwas musar world in all its forms. He was (Haim noach lo?) to which he replied, brimming with bachurim and the Alter sophisticated and complex, which to “They ask me if it is Noach and I have asked Rabbi Yecheskel Burstein, later some made him appear contradictory. just about reached Lech Lecha.” and famed author of the Rarely mentioned was his scintillat- Rav Hutner was born in Warsaw in Divrei Yechezkel, to ascertain Yitzchak’s l906. His uncle Reb Ben Zio n mother’s name, apparently as the Alter Matis Greenblatt is the literary editor Ost r over had been a disciple of Reb wished to include him in his prayers. of Jewish Action. Mendel of Kotzk, so young Yi t zc h a k Yechezkel made his way to the other Summer 5761/2001 JEWISH ACTION side of the bais hamedrashand asked while concealing his inner self: walk- dimensionality of Rav Kook (his inte- Yitzchak his mother's name. Yitzchak ing humbly within a context of public gration of different schools and replied with characteristic independence prominence. Many years later Rav approaches) by his total mastery of that Yechezkel was only an emissary to Hutner characterized the Alter in the both the nigla (revealed) and the nistar bring the message to Yitzchak, howev- following words: Zechtsig yor dveikus (hidden) segments of Torah, by his er, he,Yitzchak himself would deliver baShem ohna hefsek (S ixty years cleav- sensitive, refined character, by his the message back to the Alter. As he ing to Has h e m without interruption). poetic nature, and by his fresh, got close to the Alter, the Alter, appar- In the spring of l925 he entered the dynamic spirituality. Rabbi Moshe ently not pleased with Yitzchak’s self- newly established Slabodka branch in Tzvi Neriyah reports that Rav Hutner assertiveness, shouted to him,”Do not Chevron where he remained until declared that “had I not met Rav come in my dalid amos”. Yitzchak l929. He established close relation- Kook I would have lacked 50% of my stood back and called out “Yitzchak ships with many of the gedolimof being.” Perhaps the most important ben Chana.” This apparent rebuff was Eretz Yisrael including Yosef thing he learned from Rav Kook was undoubtedly a prelude to closer ties Chaim Sonenfeld, Shlomo Eliezer the need to communicate the nishmas between rebbeand talmid. Alfandri, , but HaTorah, the soul of the Torah, At an early age Rav Hutner kept a especially with Rav Avrohom Yitzchak including the whole gamut of non- diary of his inner life which he wrote Kook. Many years later he told Rabbi halachic Torah: Jewish thought, musar, in an astonishingly rich, mature, poeti- Shlomo Freifeld that the root of his kabbalah, and Chassidus. Rav Kook cally introspective style. Here is a soul was the same as that of Rav believed the failure to communicate small sample: “Six months have passed Kook’s. He was taken by the multi- this part of Torah was responsible for since I came to Slabodka. I have many of the defections from . changed much during this short period. Rav Kook used the term Hilchos Deos Life is rich in problems. The multi-col- Vchovos Halevavos, which became part ored flow, the multiplicity of contradic- of the title of Rav Hutner’s magnum tions and conflicts allow for awesome opus, Pachad Yitzchak. questions which touch the soul and In l950 Rabbi Sholom Noson burn to the depths and all of life from Raanan-Kook, the son-in law of Rav the womb to the grave ...and when I Kook, visited Mesivta Rabbi Chaim came to Slabodka all the diverse Berlin on Purim and partook in the questions and problems were upon Purim gathering in which Rabbi me...and as long as I lack an all- Hutner spoke. When it was over encompassing worldview I can- he said to Rabbi Hutner, "Techiat not become amusari.” HaK odesh ani roeh kan." (I see As he was to write much he r e a renaissance of holiness). later, the concentration on Rav Hutner beamed, apparen t l y musar required an intellectual sensing that he was fulfilling the basis and framework; similarly striving of Rav Kook. Rabbi the intellectual life without Hutner disagreed with the politi- middos and musar was inade- cal and historical views of Rav quate and untenable. Here Kook but this did not preve n t we can already see his lifelong him from gaining immeasurably search for an overarching fr om their close rel a t i o n s h i p . Rav shleimus. He spent several sem- Hutner once rem a r ked that ever y inal years in Slabodka and was person is compared to a building. deeply influenced by the famed For him the first floor was the Alter, Alter’s musar approach. Of equal and the top floor was Rav Koo k . importance was the Alter’s rela- In l929, Rav Hutner returned to tionship with his students and his Warsaw rejoining his parents whom he ability to develop the best qualities in had not seen for eight years. Rabbi each student. The Alter was totally Moshe Soloveitchik needed a teacher devoted to his students and under his for his l2 year old son Aharon. He tutelage most of the greatest roshei was impressed by the brilliant twenty yeshivah of our time developed and three year old Yitzchak, and hired him. bloomed. He also demonstrated how Yitzchak was a frequent visitor to the one could be a major public figure, Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, zt"l (1906-1980) Soloveitchik home and was so close to Summer 5761/2001 JEWISH ACTION very intense and he writes that there were many fundamentals that he understood only by virtue of having lived there. He once remarked that he could not understand the students who arrive in Eretz Yisrael and imme- diately enter a bais hamedrash. When he arrived he first traversed the entire land before he resumed his learning. Upon leaving Eretz Yisraelhe wrote that he had not experienced suffering and therefore felt he had not yet pos- sessed it. ( Eretz Yisrael, Chazal say, is acquired through suffering.) However, he wrote that when he returns in At the railroad station in Kovno, a group of Slabodkan students en route to Chevron. future years he will suffer and only The young Yitzchak Hutner is on the far right. then will he acquire the land. His words proved to be prophetic. the family that he was given the key to Dov Sha p i r o, Chaim Ozer Grod z i n s k i The young couple left in l934 for their apartment. Rav Moshe was not and Avr ohom Yi t z chak Kook. Wh e n America and did not return for 30 in Warsaw at the time and Yitzchak Rabbi Yechiel Yaa k o v Wei n b e r g years. Why did he leave the land he arranged for Aharon’s Bar Mitzvah. rec e i v ed his copy, he wrote a letter with lo ved so? The answer is probably con- After that Pesach he visited ex t e n s i v e comments which began as tained in a rem a r k he made years later: Germany and the Jewish communities fo l l o ws: “His sefer was a joyous sur- “I must admit that had I remained in and their leaders. In Berlin he met prise.…Who can compare to him in Eretz Yi s ra e l and not come to America, with Dr. Nathan Birnbaum and walking modestly? I am amazed that he the life there would not have permitted showed him a translation into Hebrew ne v er uttered a word concerning this me the non-attachment which is so that he had made of Birnbaum’s gr eat undertaking in which he was im p o r tant to my spirit. I need to rel a t e famous work, Am Olam (Eternal in vo l v ed. How fortunate is he to have to every b o d y .” When he returned in Nation). He spent some time at the been the first to break the new path of the sixties he could say with obvi o u s university, but was apparently never Tor ah dissemination in our genera- relish that he had had in his waiting formally registered. In the summer he ti o n … ” room two individuals of such widely learned of the devastating Chevron In l933 he married Masha Lipshitz di v ergent orientation as Rav Zvi pogrom in which many of his closest and they moved to Eretz Yisrael. In Yehudah Kook, leader of the Rel i g i o u s friends were slaughtered. He devoted l934 he acquired the manuscript of Zionist community and Rav Amram much effort to editing a memorial vol- Rabbeinu Hillel’s commentary on Blau, leader of the most extreme anti- ume and contributed a moving elegy- Toras Cohanimfrom Vienna and with Zionist grou p , the Net u r a Karta . essay. In it he captured the essence of the encouragement of Rabbi Isser Z. As his public invol v ements began to Slabodka-Chevron as a place which Meltzer did considerable work on it in c r ease he wrote that he would never concentrated on creating and develop- and wrote Kovetz Hearos, an elaborate al l o w his general soul to encroach on ing individuals possessed of the vitality supercommentary on Rabbeinu Hillel, his private soul. When his daughter and joy of youth striving to grow which was published in l961 by Bruria was born he res o l v ed never to higher and higher in their Torah and Shachne Koleditsky in his edition of lose sight of her even for a moment. avodas Hashem. Anyone coming into the Safra with Rabbeinu Hillel’s com- He wrote that he sensed that there contact with this wondrous place mentary. In conjunction with his wer e individuals who thought he was could not avoid being lifted up. And work on the Safra, Rav Hutner pro- disappointed in having a daughter, many came “to grasp the corners of duced a tour de forcein which he rather than a son. Howeve r , since the the altar and be warmed by its fire.” delineated 325 new halachosappearing challenges of raising a daughter in the Rav Hutner returned briefly to in the Safra that are not mentioned in pr oper way in our time wer e grea t e r Eretz Yi s ra e l and then returned to the Babylonian . He included than that of a son, he was happy at Kovno where he began to prep a r e his comments on these halachosand pub- having been given the more difficu l t Tor as HaNa z i r , a brilliant commentary lished this work in the late 1930's. It te s t . on the Rambam’s Laws of Naz i r . It was republished in the 1961 Sometime in l938 his old friend was printed in l932 with glowi n g Koleditsky volume. Rabbi Yaa k o v Yi t z chak Ruderman was ap p r obations from Rabbis Avro h o m His attachment to Eretz Yisraelwas visiting New Yor k. Rav Hutner met

Summer 5761/2001 JEWISH ACTION him at a midtown hotel and they ing the Maharal, he would expound ments, which we call halachah, and walked together to the Lower East Sid e . fr equently on the Gaon of Vilna, and knowledge of His ways, which we call On that walk Rabbi Hutner described the Ramban was always fundamental. aggadah. Aggadah has the advantage the institution he planned to build. It Reb Yi s r oel Salanter was a source of of bringing us closer to Him. In would include an emphasis on Jewi s h pr ofound respect and apprec i a t i o n . describing a Succos gathering he thought, musar and av odah and would Th e r e wer e those such as Rav Zad o k wrote…“At this gathering one hears ac h i e v e maximum growth during the HaK ohen and the schools of Gur and words of Torah which raise up the soul mo a d i m . In subsequent years he Ishbitz, who though never mentioned and draw upon it supernal streams br ought his blueprint to rea l i t y . by name in the talks, exer cised a pro- preparing it for the simchah shel mitz- America was virgin soil and he felt found influence and wer e mentioned vah. The space of the succahis filled that he could mold his institution as in more informal gatherings. Rav with song and playing of intimate he wished. America’s very weaknesses Kook was never mentioned by name in songs directed primarily to the point represented a challenge to his vitality the ma a m o r i m , though it was said by of the Divine soul which resides in its and great talents. He was a perfect those in the know that when he hidden recesses.” Though he was match for the spiritual wasteland ref e r r ed to Kedoshei Elyo n which beckoned him to mold individ- of the previous generation uals in a way perfectly loyal to the it meant Rav Kook. Th e mesorahyet reflecting an appreciation ma a m o r i m wer e either and understanding of their unique de l i ve r ed shortly before the qualities. He always recognized that Yomim Tovim (Ros h an American yeshivah could not repli- Has h a n a , Y om Kippur, cate a European model, but must Chanukah and Shavuos) or develop its own unique character. on the Yomim Tovi m Though he followed his basic blue- (P urim, Pesach and print, Rabbi Hutner was always grow- Suc c o s ) . ing and developing. Once when asked A maamar was much why he seemed to be contradicting a more than a presentation pr eviously held position, he rep l i e d , of intellectual concepts. It “S hould I die as I was born?” also involved inspiration of In the early days of the Mes i v t a the soul. In Rav Hutner’s Rabbi Chaim Berlin, he deliver ed daily own words a maamar was Talmudic lectures but over the yea r s “a verbal outcry of a vision reduced them to once a week. His lec- before my eyes.” That is tu r es wer e like lightning, containing why reading a maamar sudden illumination and unexpected could never replace the insights. Wh e r eas one could listen to experience of hearing it another great Talmudist and pinch directly while seeing his oneself for not having thought of his face and his expressions. chiddush , this was never so in the case It was more of a soul to of Rabbi Hut n e r . Besides his reg u l a r soul meeting, or rather a Talmudic lectures, he deliver ed talks mind/soul to mind/soul (in the early days called sh m u s s e n an d encounter. The impact on in later years ma a m o r i m ) which always the listening audience was Rav Hutner speaking with Rav Aharon Kotler. carried his original stamp, but which electric. Not everyone wer e strongly influenced by the mu s a r grasped the intellectual intricacies of steeped in kabbalah, no references thinkers. In those days the daily mu s a r the logical tapestry he had woven, but were ever made to any kabbalistic se d e r included studying mu s a r ac c o r d- everyone present was touched to the works. At least some of his Torah was ing to Reb Yisrael Sal a n t e r , which core of his being. And the rippling nistar b’derech nigleh(the hidden in an meant with “flaming lips,” or with vibrancy of the experience penetrated open way). Each Yom Tov was cele- intense spiritual arousal. As time wen t very deeply. It was much beyond brated as an existential reliving of its on Rabbi Hutner concentrated grea t l y where any philosophical discourse underlying principles, but also as a on expounding the thought of the could reach. One was somehow con- prelude to the end of days. The Maharal, which considerably enhanced nected to the ground of being. Rav Yomim Noraim were unforgettable, his students’ appreciation for the depth Hutner wrote that Torah has two and many who were there say that to of Ch a z a l . In later years, without leav- aspects, knowledge of His command- this day the inspiration they feel on

Summer 5761/2001 JEWISH ACTION Yomim Noraim relates back to those was not climbing to higher levels. incident: one Pesach he invited a sin- days. During the silent Mussaf Amidah His uncommon breadth enabled him to gle young man to the Seder. The for Rosh Hashanah, the Rosh Yeshivah, embrace Rav Kook and the Rav. young man was understandably ner- who had a rich, powerful, but delicate He was proud (he frequently spoke vous and to his horror knocked over voice, would sing a haunting melodic of holy pride, ga’avah d’kedushah) and his wine cup and it splattered wine on fragment that shattered the compla- humble simultaneously. He explained Rabbi Hutner’s kittel. Rav Hutner cency of all those present. that fear of heaven was rooted in man’s instantly exclaimed, “A Pesach kittel Rav Hutner was fond of saying “co n - sense of insignificance in the face of without wine is like a Yom Kippur machzorwithout tears.” There are two other versions of this incident which refer to the tablecloth of the Haggadah rather than the kittel. He saw a stream of visitors daily, most of whom were disciples seeking guidance in every conceivable area of life. He was able to enter into the world of the individual before him and respond to his unique questions and needs. Both in his letters and in per- son he always asked for facts about the person’s daily life, which he under- stood gave a more accurate picture of his true essence than mere pronounce- ments. A Canadian Chassidwho had just visited Rav Hutner for the first time emerged to tell his friend, “He is one of us”(er iz doch mishelanu!) Of course, he communicated this feeling to the most widely diverse individuals. Rav Hutner dancing with Rav ShlomoW olbe. Rabbi Hutner was deeply involved in public and communal matters, but these were always accomplished “from tradictions do not bother us,” by which the Infinite One, while love of God behind the curtain”. He shunned he meant philosophical antinomies as was rooted in his sense of being creat- public appearances, contacts with the well as personal anomalies, but he ed in His image. Both were in a state press or organizational attachments. demonstrated that the seeming contra- of coexistence. Another point needs He once wrote that one is indeed for- dictions wer e not in conflict. For to be made: his expressions of pride tunate if he is able to find happiness in example, he was clearly a disciple of the and honor were as a representative of the good deeds that he performs him- Alter in emphasizing the stature of man Torah, not as an individual. A group self. Just as in the monetary sphere it (gadlus HaAd a m ). At the same time he of roshei yeshivahwere to meet with a is a humiliation for a person to go had imbibed the Kotzker skepticism of very affluent individual on a matter of begging and to be dependent upon human motivation. Yet, there was no critical communal importance. The others, how much more so is it a co n fl ict and both strands wer e synthe- roshei yeshivahheld their meeting, but humiliation to beg for and be depen- si z ed in his approach. The Kotzker sus- the individual did not show up. He dent upon the praise of others. picion of cant, dishonesty and honor phoned to ask whether the roshei Most of Rav Hutner’s letters closed seeking was enlisted in making an indi- yeshivah could come to his office. Rav with the words, “One who looks for- vidual see his motivation so that he Hutner responded, “I am not a great ward to the elevation of Torah and could attain his true potential stature. mathematician, but it is clear that the those who study it.” His central focus The Rosh Yes h i va h ’s in c i s i v e rep ro o f s distance from your office to here is was that of creating talmidei wer e rooted in love, and when the time exactly the same as from our office to chachamimwho were baalei Avodah, or came praise was lavish. yours, so we ask that you come here.” as he put it gehoibene talmideicho- His life was a continuous movement His letters reflect an extraordinary chomim. The key was to be totally to higher and higher levels. Yet he sensitivity to the predicaments and absorbed in Torah; merely learning writes of the yearning to incorporate problems of individuals and many are Torah was insufficient, one needed to the simplicity of the ordinary Jew who entitled simply, “chizuk.” This sensi- tivity is illustrated in the following be tarud (preoccupied)with learning. Summer 5761/2001 JEWISH ACTION It is not that I am in the subject Jos h u a ’s death, Nechemiah, the new ceive that Rav Hutner deals with gen- (sugya), but that the sugya captures acceptance of the Torah at Purim, the eral philosophical questions. The late me. He said that he grew up among acceptance of the Talmud, and fina l l y Steven Schwartzchild translated several talmidei chachamim, and none became the people’s (both Sep h a r di and maamoriminto English which great from learning alone, but from Ashkenazi), acceptance of the Shu l c h a n appeared in Tradition magazine and being possessed by the tirda of learn- Aruc h . The people’s acceptance of the wrote an essay entitled “An ing. For Rav Hutner the crowning Talmud as the final authority in Jewi s h Introduction to the Thought of Rav achievement of the creation is develop- life without benefit of public rel a t i o n s Isaac Hutner,” which appeared in ing individuals, which as previously or propaganda was an awesome even t Modern Judaism(October l985). mentioned was the crucial element in in response to which as Rav Hut n e r More recently other articles have the Alter’s success. In Rav Hutner’s puts it, “under the impact of the vision appeared in academic journals. Chevron elegy quoted above, he of the fresh acceptance of the Torah the There are seven volumes of his affirmed his mentor’s approach and pen in the hand of the man of knowl - works on the moadimentitled Pachad subsequently implemented it in his edge trembles.” Yitzchak. The style is highly original, relationship to his own students. He was open to all knowledge and combining logic and passion in a Though requiring loyalty of his stu- in a now famous letter decried the unique blend of poetic prose. In addi- dents, he encouraged each to flower concept of having to live a double life, tion, there is a volume of letters and according to his individual talents. He between Torah and worldly knowl- writings and a volume, Sefer used to say that he never described edge. But of course one could not HaZikkaron, containing a biography anyone as his “talmid,” apparently extrapolate from his prescription for written by his daughter Rebbetzin reflecting his disinclination to impede one disciple for another. He might Bruria David. The volume also con- the natural growth of each individual. advise contrarily for a different student tains a substantial sample of his Torah Perhaps we have here another contra- whom he recognized as having differ- writings including a number of letters diction without conflict. ent needs. Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe to Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Rav Hutner once mentioned to the writes that Rav Hutner’s mastery of Many talks given by Rav Hutner were Alter that the subject of Kedushas secular Yisroel (the sanctity of the Jewish peo- knowledge ple) would be the critical issue of the (or, in his next generation. And in his own talks words “of the he always emphasized this cardinal seven fields of principle. At the same time he also knowledge”) recognized the basic dignity of all was astound- human beings and wrote a powerful ing, and inte- essay castigating those (in the l920's) grated into who characterized the use of Arab his total labor as avodah zarah, thereby depriv- world-view. ing them of a livelihood. Rav Hutner He underscored the importance of decried the Jewish history, pointing out that since term Shoah, the Torah and Israel are one, distorti n g which he felt the true meaning of Jewish history is was coined to comparable to distorting the true separate it meaning of Torah. For this rea s o n , from the rest when he addressed contemporary of Jewish his- At the wedding of Rav Hutner's daughter, Rav ,zt"l issues, it was always through the lens of tory. Instead engaged in conversation with Rav Hutner. Torah, usually in the form of a ma a - he used ma r . In a rem a r kable historical essay Churban. He decried the term “week- not included in the definitive edition. (Igr os Uke s a v i m , pp l55-62) concerning end” which is obviously a Christian Therefore, Leib Rutta, one of his stu- the Shulchan Aruc h , which perhaps is term implying that Sunday is the day dents, published two volumes of his his last major writing, he describes the of rest. notes of other talks entitled Reshimos mi t z va h of Hak h e l as a ree n a c t m e n t Rav Hutner’s maamorim(essays) are Lev. Though lacking the clarity of and rededication of the day of the all written in a traditional format, in style of Pachad Yitzchak,nevertheless Assembly at Sinai. Hakhel th e n that he almost never quotes from non- ReshimosLev is a record of talks which became a paradigm for other red e d i c a - Torah sources. Nevertheless, certain in all likelihood would have been com- tion events such as that at the time of academic scholars have claimed to per- pletely lost to posterity. Rabbi Meir Summer 5761/2001 JEWISH ACTION over the like a waterfall cascading, downward entrance to the between clefts in the rock. well of the His legacy is that of an inimitable soul. Across teacher, not merely in transmitting time — their subject matter, but in demonstrating own time — how to live and be as a Jew. He was there gathered impatient with superficiality and types of tears, blazed new paths in grasping funda- different tears. mentals. His thought was fresh, pro- In this hidden found and dynamic, and he breathed spot of tears new life into eternal truths. Towards there are those the end of his life he struggled with of ‘My eyes the question of whether he had suc- dropped ceeded in communicating his vision so streams of as to be understood by future genera- water for not tions. The continuing and growing having kept interest in his thought and persona are Rav Hutner in his later years. your Torah’ clear evidence that he succeeded. JA Belsky has published four volumes on and of ‘Extend grace to me, wretched the moadim entitled Citadel and am I’ — tears sharing the sorrows of Notes: Tower: Quest for Jewish Majesty, which men, of pitying an orphaned generation, 1Translated by Hillel Goldberg (©l989) are substantially based on the Pachad of yearning for the countenance of par- Yitzchak. The biography mentioned ents and teachers whom I was privileged How fortunate we were that above contains many quotes from the to view once upon a time, of yearning our portion was among the diary kept by Rav Hutner during for the higher light in blessed hours of occupants of his bais much of his life. This is obviously a engagement with the secrets ofTorah, of hamedrash; to have heard his remarkable work and is unparalleled in reciting the Song of Songs from out of a words which penetrated to the its depth, style and insights and in its mighty sense of their loftiness — tears inner depths; to have received authentic reflection of the inner life of flowing as water libations upon the the vital force of Torah that he a Torah giant. It is hoped that this altar, the altar of love of God, tears of planted in our minds and work will be available for the enrich- exaltation. All these types of tears sen- hearts and through us was ful- ment of Klal Yisroel. There remains a tenced to hiding across ages, across years, filled the verse, “and you shall need for a full length biography to be now coalesced into one unity beneath the written while those who knew Rav teach them to your children — concealing rock and behold! When my these are your talmidim.” Hutner are still alive. fingers just grazed Maharal’s tombstone, His talmidim recognized that In l974 Rav Hutner took a trip to the concealing rock on my breast split to “our portion is his portion,” Eur ope and decided to stop off in smithereens and my tears came gushing, Prague and visit the Mah a r a l ’s and all that we achieved in the gr a v e. After drinking from the wel l Torah world was only due to of the Maharal for many yea r s , his demands that we bring in t e r p r eting his works and con- forth the best within us. tributing greatly to the ren e wed …Dedicated to our rebbe in t e r est in his se f a r i m , he rea c h e d with the recognition that one the Mah a r a l ’s final resting place. does not become worthy of the Her e is how he described part of his name “rebbe” only by delivering feelings at this poignant encounter: shiurim, but also by the skill of When tears well up into weeping, an artist who fashions his work we know why we weep. My tears at and continues to perfect it until this moment, however, surely and it becomes “the glorious work surely did not well up now. My tears of his hands.” are old and venerable now, having Rabbi GershonW einrib of gathered in the subsoil of the soul blessed memory wrote this dedi- now and over time, in their own cation to Rabbi Hutner in one of time. Hidden tears, the soul itself the sefarim he authored. hid them by placing a concealing rock The grave of the Maharal of Prague.

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