A Quiet Gift from Rav Chaim Brisker
Torah learning
In Minsk, at the height of the war, young Yaakov Ruderman was privileged to meet Rav Chaim Brisker. Rav Chaim seemed to sense how much the young illui could become, and understood that he would require extra care to endure the hardships of wartime.
Without telling him, Rav Chaim arranged for a wealthy man to give the young talmid extra funds, so that hunger would not disturb his learning. Only after Rav Chaim passed away in 1918, and the support stopped, did Rav Ruderman discover who had been looking after him.