Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik
The Beis Halevi, Rav of Brisk and former Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin, a Lithuanian gaon known for his truthfulness and his generous heart.
Biography
Early years
Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik zt"l, known as the Beis Halevi, was one of the greatest and most remarkable personalities that Lithuanian Jewry gave to the Jewish people. People tell many stories of this tzaddik and gaon. They speak of his genius, his sharp mind, his integrity and his refinement, and above all of his good heart, which was a heart of gold.
He was the son of Rav Yitzchok Zev HaLevi Soloveitchik, a grandson of the Gaon of the generation, Rav Chaim of Volozhin. Rav Yosef Dov was born in 5580 (1820). From childhood it was clear that he was destined for greatness. It is said that at the age of seven he already knew several chapters of tractates in Nashim and Nezikin, together with the commentary of the Rambam, completely by heart.
Torah and leadership
While still young he entered the famed yeshiva of Volozhin, where he became known for his keen mind. The Rosh Yeshiva, his great-uncle Rav Yitzchok, the son of Rav Chaim who founded the yeshiva, was delighted to have him and said of him, "This boy is destined to become great." And so it was: while still young, Rav Yosef Dov grew great in Torah and was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin. After ten years, several reasons forced him to leave the position, and he was named Rav of the town of Slutzk.
By nature Rav Yosef Dov was a man of truth. He showed no favor to anyone, and he stood up to every powerful or wealthy person who tried to lord it over others. The verse "You shall fear no man" (Devarim 1:17) was a guiding light for him in all areas of life. He held firmly to opinions that reflected the view of the Torah.
It is told that one day in Slutzk a Reformer, a man without honor, was called up to the Torah. He went up to the bimah and began the berocha with the tune of an observant, G-d-fearing Jew, "Who has chosen us from among all the peoples and given us His Torah." On hearing this, Rav Yosef Dov began to laugh. "He certainly did not say this berocha in vain," he said. "If the Torah had been given to the other nations, he would have felt bound to keep it down to the smallest detail, so as to be seen as a perfect non-Jew. But since the Torah was given to Israel, he feels free to throw off its yoke. That is why he said the berocha so sincerely, stressing the words 'and given us His Torah,' to us and not to others, because he does not feel obliged to keep it."
Another time, the leaders of the Slutzk community came to him to complain about the decline of religious life in the town. The Rav replied that truthfulness had the upper hand, because those who do not believe really do not believe, and that is why they succeed. Those who keep Torah and mitzvos, on the other hand, do not always do so with complete sincerity, and that is why the unbelievers have the upper hand.
Along with his greatness in Torah, Rav Yosef Dov had a caring heart that was open to the poor and the downcast. He looked after the needs of the community and did much for the city's poor. In one year of scarcity he founded an organization called "Food for the Poor," which he directed himself. He went from house to house collecting money for the needy, and his home was open to every discouraged person and every soul in pain. Even when he himself lacked, he gave his last coin to tzedakah. He gave tzedakah with careful thought, and he dealt wisely with the poor.
It is told that one day a very poor Rav from a small town came to his home. Rav Yosef Dov welcomed him warmly and invited him to eat, and as they ate they spoke in Torah. After bentching, the guest stood up, and Rav Yosef Dov noticed that his shoes were torn. He called one of his sons over and whispered to him, "Take off your shoes and give them to this Rav."
Teachings and seforim
His love of truth brought him much trouble and disappointment. He left his position as Rav of Slutzk and for several years devoted himself to Torah study in holiness and purity, with no rabbinate and no income.
After Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, the Rav of Brisk, left for the Holy Land, the leaders of the Brisk community came to ask Rav Yosef Dov to take his place. He agreed, and he was greatly honored in Brisk. His fame spread throughout the Jewish world as a Rav of the highest rank. In Brisk he found calm and rest for his troubled soul, and he could learn Torah in peace. There he wrote his four-part collection of responsa, the Beis Halevi, and a commentary called Yad Halevi.
Later years and passing
After a short illness, Rav Yosef Dov passed away on 4 Iyar 5652 (1892).
Legacy
Rav Yosef Dov left behind not only his seforim but also his children, who were themselves great in Torah. Among them was Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, who brought light to the world through his Torah and wisdom.
Stories
The Coachman's Helper
Rav Ovadia Yosef used to tell this story about the Beis Halevi to illustrate the Mishnah in Avos: "Apply yourself to the study of Torah, for it is not something you can just inherit" (Avos 2:17).
When Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik was still a bochur in the Volozhin yeshiva, he heard from his uncle, Rav Yitzchok, about the great gaon Rav Shlomo Kluger, and about his greatness in Torah and yiras Shomayim. He longed to meet Rav Kluger, to discuss Torah with him and to bask in his presence. The difficulty was that Rav Kluger lived in Brodie, in Galicia, very far from Volozhin, and the young Yosef Dov had no money and no way to get there.
One day he overheard guests at the yeshiva discussing their travel plans and saying that they were headed for Brodie. He thought of a plan. He went to the coachman and offered to work as his helper. "The journey is long, and surely you need extra hands," he said. "I can take the reins so you can rest, and help you feed and harness the horses when we stop."
The coachman looked at the pale, thin yeshiva bochur, who had clearly never done hard physical work, and doubted that he could manage. "And what wage are you asking?" he asked.
"I need to travel to Brodie, so I am willing to work for nothing. My only pay will be a bed when we stop for the night and some simple food for the road." Free help appealed to the coachman, and he agreed. "Let us start by harnessing the horses and getting the wheels ready for the road."
Yosef Dov had never done manual labor. His soft hands, so used to turning the pages of the Gemara, soon bled from the hard leather harness and were burned by the hot tar smeared on the wheels. But he did not complain. Exhausted, he held the reins while the coachman dozed, and his mind reviewed the Torah he was so eager to discuss with Rav Shlomo Kluger. He was so absorbed that the horses wandered off the road. The jolt woke the coachman, who grabbed the reins in alarm and steered the horses back.
"You lazy slouch," he shouted, and he slapped the young bochur across the face. "That will teach you to keep the horses on the road." Yosef Dov said nothing. He accepted the rebuke and resolved to work harder.
After several hard days they reached Brodie. The young bochur knew no one there and began asking for the home of Rav Shlomo Kluger. When the door opened, the household found a dirty, unkempt, ragged youth, not the yeshiva bochur he claimed to be. "You say you are a grandson of Rav Chaim of Volozhin?" the servants asked doubtfully. Even Rav Kluger had his doubts, for the youth's torn clothes and cut, dirty hands looked far more like a coachman's than a talmid chacham's grandson. "Where is your letter of introduction?" he asked.
Yosef Dov had none, but he asked to prove himself another way. "Let me instead tell you the answer I prepared to a difficult Rambam." As he spoke, his Torah knowledge convinced Rav Kluger that he was who he said he was.
"Forgive me for mistaking you and for doubting your word," said Rav Kluger. "Your Torah is true, and to make it up to such a budding gaon and talmid chacham, you will have the honor of giving the derosha in my place this Shabbos in shul."
Brodie was full of talmidei chachamim, and the whole town, young and old, packed the shul to see and hear the young prodigy whom Rav Kluger had honored. Everyone came, even the coachman. When he saw who stood giving the Shabbos derosha, he nearly fainted. He burst into tears, came to Yosef Dov and begged forgiveness. "I am so sorry that I treated you so harshly and even slapped you."
Rav Yosef Dov forgave him wholeheartedly. "If you had slapped me for not knowing Torah, and called me a simpleton who does not know how to learn, you would be liable," he said. "But you told the truth. When it comes to handling a coach and driving horses, I am a true am haaretz."
Seforim
- Beis Halevi: His four-part collection of responsa, written in Brisk.
- Yad Halevi: A commentary.
Family & talmidim
C:
Rav Chaim Soloveitchik:
Also on 4 Iyar
All hilulos on 4 Iyar ›Historical sources
- Hevrat Pinto, Tzadikim (profile text)
- Anaf Etz Avos