Rav Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky

Early years

Rav Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky zt"l, known as Rav Chaim, was born in Pinsk, Poland (now Belarus), on January 8, 1928. His father was Rav Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky, the Steipler Gaon, and his mother was Rebbetzin Miriam Karelitz (Pesha Miriam), sister of Rav Avrohom Yeshayahu Karelitz, the Chazon Ish.

When Rav Chaim was six, the family moved to Eretz Yisroel. After arriving he never left the country, even for a short time. In his youth he learned with his father, the Steipler, and with his uncle, the Chazon Ish. He also learned at Yeshivas Tiferes Tzion in Bnei Brak under Rav Yechiel Michel Lefkowitz, and later in the Lomza Yeshiva in Petach Tikvah, under the rosh yeshiva, Rav Yechiel Michel Gordon, and the mashgiach (spiritual supervisor), Rav Eliyahu Dushnitzer. He toiled in Torah from his youth, and as a young man he could already explain difficult rabbinic teachings. During the war of 1947–1949, while still a student at Lomza, he served in the IDF, guarding an outpost that overlooked Jaffa.

He married Batsheva Elyashiv, daughter of Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv. They had eight children.

Torah and leadership

Rav Chaim held no formal community-wide post, yet he was the de facto leader of the Lithuanian branch of the Charedi world and was honored across every part of Torah Jewry. Known as the Sar HaTorah (Prince of Torah), he was seen as the foremost Torah authority and posek acharon for Klal Yisroel. After Rav Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman passed away in December 2017, Rav Chaim and Rav Gershon Edelstein, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh, were regarded as the leaders of the Israeli Charedi community. He was seen as the foremost leader of its non-Chassidic part.

Hundreds of questions reached him every week, in person and by mail, from every corner of the world and on every subject, from halachah to hashkafah. Thousands of people visited him each year for advice and guidance. He learned Torah about seventeen hours a day, and his command of all of Torah, which he famously completed every year, was unmatched. In January 2021 Eli Paley, who heads the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs, said in The New York Times that the Charedi community in Israel viewed its very existence as dependent on Rav Chaim and his learning.

Rav Chaim served as the official rav and spiritual guide of Belev Echad, a non-profit organization founded in Israel in 2011 to help sick and disabled children and adults.

Teachings and seforim

He wrote many classic works, including Shoneh Halachos, a systematic presentation of the Mishnah Berurah; Derech Emunah, on the agricultural laws of Eretz Yisroel; Derech Chochmoh, which covers the laws of the Beis HaMikdash; Shaarei Emunah; Shekel HaKodesh, on the laws of Kiddush HaChodesh; Orchos Yosher; Siach HaSadeh; Nachal Eisan, which covers eglah arufah (the heifer whose neck is broken); Taama Dekra; B'Sha'ar HaMelech; L'Mechase Atik; and Kiryas Melech. He also wrote commentaries on Maseches Tzitzis, Maseches Avadim, Maseches Kusim, Maseches Geirim, Perek Shira, the Braisa D'Meleches HaMishkan and the Braisa D'Maseches Middos, among others.

His rulings addressed the questions of his time. In 2012 he ruled that a smartphone may not be owned or used without individual permission from a halachic authority, and that owners should burn their phones rather than sell them. In 2016 he declared that medicinal cannabis is kosher for Pesach, as long as holding it does not violate the law of the land. In 2017 he ruled that reporting child sexual abuse to the police is consistent with halachah. In his later years he spoke of the coming of Moshiach as possibly near, and urged Jews abroad to move to Eretz Yisroel.

When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, Rav Chaim advised people that the way to overcome the virus lay in avoiding lashon hara, strengthening humility and putting the needs of others ahead of their own. On March 15 senior police officials visited him, with great respect, to ask about the importance of following the instructions of medical professionals. On March 29, when Bnei Brak had a high rate of infection, he ruled that a person who ignores the Health Ministry's guidelines stands in the position of a rodef (one pursuing another with intent to kill), that phones may be answered on Shabbos to receive Covid test results, and that minyanim must not gather at all. That was stricter than the ministry's rules at the time, which allowed outdoor minyanim with two meters (six feet) between participants.

On October 2, 2020 Rav Chaim was diagnosed with Covid-19, and on October 28 his physician reported that he had recovered. He later endorsed vaccination for all and wished the experts success in the national campaign.

Later years and passing

Rav Chaim passed away at home in Bnei Brak on 15 Adar II 5782 (March 18, 2022). He was 94. About 750,000 mourners attended the levayah on March 20, 2022, one of the largest funerals in the history of Israel, second only to that of Rav Ovadia Yosef in October 2013, which drew more than 850,000. He was buried in the Ponovezher Bais Hachaim, next to the kever of his father, the Steipler.

He was survived by his children, Rebbetzin Leah Koledetzky, Rav Avrohom Yeshayahu Kanievsky, Rebbetzin Rus Tzivion, Rav Shlomo Kanievsky, Rebbetzin Bracha Braverman, Rebbetzin Dina Epstein and Rav Yitzchok Shaul Kanievsky. His daughter Rebbetzin Chana Shteinman had passed away about eight years earlier, and his wife, Rebbetzin Batsheva, in 2011.

Legacy

Rav Chaim's influence on the Torah world was unparalleled, and few in recent history have held such a position across the whole spectrum of Torah Jewry. For decades he was consulted on virtually every important issue. With his passing Klal Yisroel feels the void that was left, and many pray to be reunited with him with the coming of Moshiach.