On our trip to a Eretz Yisrael, we heard a eulogy on Rav Chaim Kanievsky zsl, given by his grandson, who told us two powerful Ahavat Yisrael stories.
The first was about a man who came to Rav Chaim, who had a bird’s nest on his back porch. He knew that Rav Chaim loved to do Mitzvot, so he offered the Rabbi the opportunity of fulfilling the mitzvah of Shiluach Haken/sending away the mother bird. But Rav Chaim declined. He said that he was busy learning and didn’t have time. The man was a little surprised. He mentioned that he knew the rabbi had gone to another person‘s home recently, when that person offered the Rav the opportunity to do this same Mitzvah. Rav Chaim replied that in that particular case, there was an aspect of chesed involved. Rav Chaim knew that the other man would feel good if the Rabbi had come to his home, so in order to make that man feel good, he closed his Gemara and went to do the mitzvah.
But in this man’s case, to just go and do the Mitzvah when the man really didn’t need that hizuk, Rav Chaim decided that it was better to remain learning his Gemara. This is just one example of how an Adam Gadol always has his eyes open, and sees things through multiple lenses.
Another, similar story was about when Rav Chaim was younger (about 27) and learning in Kollel Chazon Ish. He was learning b’hevruta with a younger, single man (about 20 years old).
This younger man had written a Habura/an essay of sorts, on a chosen topic. But he noticed, in a sefer from an Aharon/a later rabbi ( from 100 years ago, as opposed to 800 years ago) that the rabbi wrote something that seemed to undermine the whole principle of this young man’s essay. He felt a little broken, after having put so much time and effort into writing something that he now saw as wrong. He mentioned to Rav Chaim, as they walked in the street together, his concerns about what he had written and how he found a sefer from a later rabbi that seemed to refute it.
They went passed a few houses when Rav Chaim commented, “I just reviewed the whole Bavli (which is the entire Shas, over 2,000 pages) and there is nothing contrary to what you thought.” They walked a little bit more, and Rav Chaim said, “I went through the Yerushalmi (the Jerusalem Talmud) and there is nothing that goes against what you thought.”
Then he listed multiple databases that he’d gone through in his mind, and he assured his chavruta that he could very comfortable with what he wrote. It was fine.
Normally, Rav Chaim would not show off his knowledge, or that he was able to mentally review all that knowledge in such a short time. But in order to make this fellow feel good and not be down over the possibility that what he wrote wasn’t the truth, Rav Chaim went out of his comfort zone and shared his knowledge, in order to pump this fellow up.
Again, we see how great people know how to look at things. They know when to use humility, and when to put humility to the side.
Have a wonderful day.