The Mashgiach of Mir
He made Mir what it was--strongly rooted in Torah and Mussar

by Chaim Shapiro

This article originally appeared in the Jewish Observer and is also available in book form in the ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications Judaiscope Series. It is reprinted here with permission

Reb Yerucham Levovitz
died 5696/1936

Mussar - and Opposition

The concentrated study of Mussar (the ethical imperatives of Torah) as a means of character development and self-improvement was propagated by Rabbi Yisrael (Lipkin) Salanter. In explanation of the importance of the study of Mussar, his leading disciple, Reb Itzele Peterburger,1 writes: "The Rambam compares spiritual illness to physical sickness. Just as a sick person seeks the advice of a physician who will diagnose his ailment and prescribe a cure for him, so too should one ill in spirit ask the advice of the chachamim - those wise in Torah, who are capable of healing the maladies of the soul. The medical sciences are developing more people who are studying medicine and more cures are being discovered. When new diseases appear, medical research proliferates and so do remedies. Such is not the case in regard to spiritual illness. While the number of ailing multiply and types of illnesses are increasing, 'doctors' are ever fewer in number and cures are weaker and weaker."

He states further, "Once, Torah and Yirah (fear of G-d) were inseparable twins, always found hand in hand - the level of one's attainment in Torah was equal to his Yirah. Now, however, the two are split apart. And in the end, where Yirah is lacking, Torah will also be lost."

While Reb Yisrael's Mussar program spread and eventually took the form of a movement, it was not without opposition. - Not that people rejected the teachings of Mussar. Rather, they had felt that it was unnecessary and even misleading to concentrate on Mussar as an endeavor distinct from Torah study. They viewed Torah study as the greatest source of Mussar possible. The two were one integrated whole. For generations, study of the Talmud, concentrating on such seemingly legalistic topics as "the ox that gores a cow," proved a most effective source of ethical standards and conduct ... But Reb Yisrael Salanter had anticipated this opposition, and insisted that with the steady weakening of the generations, one must stand on two feet - one of Torah, the other of Mussar.

The Yeshiva in Mir was basically geared to Torah study - exclusively. Then, Reb Yerucham came and supported it with the additional leg of Mussar. One can thus unequivocally state that Reb Yerucham made Mir what it was - strongly rooted in both Torah and Mussar.

The Beginnings of Mir

In 5577 (1816), Rabbi David Eisenstadt opened a yeshivah in his community, a small town called Mir (or "Damir"). He appointed his son Reb Moshe Avraham to lead the yeshivah in a manner similar to the one in Volozhin. The yeshivah became especially popular under the leadership of Rabbi Chaim Leib Tikochinsky, who served as Rosh Yeshivah for fifty years. Then his son, Reb Avraham, succeeded him. He became blind, but continued to say shiurim regularly in spite of his handicap. Rabbi Elya Baruch Kamai was then invited to Mir to serve as Rav and Rosh Yeshivah. It was under his leadership that the yeshivah gained world-wide renown.

Reb Elya Baruch was so immersed in Torah study - intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually - that he could not understand how one could separate Yiras Shomayim from Torah. Hence he would not permit Mussar as a separate area in the yeshivah curriculum. He once asked a new arrival to the yeshivah where he had learned before. When he replied, "In a Novaradoker yeshivah2 where Mussar is supreme, Reb Elya Baruch dropped his gray head, remarking, "There is no need for a separate limud of Mussar. Gemara and Tosafos are the best source of Mussar." Reb Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the "Alter of Slobodka," in his great wisdom managed to plant his Mussar talmidim in every major yeshivah - usually as "sons-in-law" to the Roshei Yeshivah2 - thus succeeding in eventually converting all major yeshivos into strongholds of Mussar. Yet he failed in Mir. Even though his own son, Reb Leizer Yudel, became Reb Elya Baruch's son-in-law, Reb Elya Baruch would not permit the study of Mussar to enter his yeshivah.

The Winds of Change

Then the winds of revolution began to sweep across Czarist Russia, and the Jewish communities were no less affected than the others. In addition, Haskalah, a movement full of hatred and ridicule of Torah and Yiddishkeit, began to penetrate the religious youth. Changes were taking place among the students, especially in their attitude toward the hanhalah (faculty and administration). Although Reb Ely Baruch was aged and totally immersed in Torah, his eyes and ears were always open, and he was deeply disturbed by what he saw. The final blow came through an incident involving Moshe Bernstein, an innocent young boy from the town of Turetz.3

Moshe was an excellent student - a masmid (unusually diligent), in possession of a brilliant mind. Although Turetz was not too far from Mir, Moshe could not afford to take a wagon home for the holidays, so he stayed in Mir for three uninterrupted years. After not seeing his family for so long, the young fellow became homesick and decided to go home for the fourth Pesach. He borrowed from the "Gemillas Chessed Al Mashkonos" (free loan fund, on collateral), banking on an increase in his student stipend as a fourth year man to pay off his debt. He deposited his coat as a mashkon.

It had been a cold winter, and the spring air did not warm up before Pesach. Moshe Turetzer arrived home without a coat, and came down with pneumonia, almost dying.

When the news of Moshe's condition reached Mir, the "revolutionists" in the yeshivah decided that it was time to take action. When the Rosh Yeshivah arrived at davening the next morning, he could not believe his eyes: All sefarim were placed neatly on the window sills, while the benches were turned upside down, as a protest against the terrible poverty they were suffering. This was certainly not the doing of the hanhalah. The Roshei Yeshivah also lived in abject poverty and were totally helpless when it came to improving the yeshivahs finances.4 But the shock of the protest was enough to provoke Reb Ely Baruch to send an SOS to his mechuttan the Alter of Slobodka: "You were right. Save the yeshivah. Send me some ba'alei Mussar."

The Alter of Slobodka immediately dispatched ten of his best young men. They had to be expert lomdim (astute Talmudists) to influence the lomdim of Mir. And they had to be ba'alei Mussar and mashpi'im - people who are capable of influencing others. Among them were Reuvain Minsker (Grozovsky) and Alter Tiktiner (Shapiro, my father).5 He then dispatched Reb Yerucham, who at that time was serving as Mashgiach in Radin, to help place Mir on its feet, with his personal involvement with the students and through his shmuessen. For the next twenty-six years, until his passing, Reb Yerucham and Mir were inseparable.

The Mussar Shmuess

A shmuess is not a lecture, nor is it a formal speech - it is merely a talk. As the very personification of Mussar, a Mashgiach must practice what he preaches. How dare he, then, stand up and criticize an entire yeshivah? Wouldn't it be an act of ga'avah (arrogance), the very opposite of humility and Mussar teachings?6 Therefore, in a shmuess a Mashgiach would simply talk to himself, criticizing himself, moralizing to his own soul - except that he would speak loud enough for others to hear. At the start, a Mashgiach would hardly raise his voice. Students could not remain in their regular seats, for they would not hear a word. So they would stand, crowding in a horseshoe around the Mashgiach.

The place of the shmuess varies. In some yeshivos the Mashgiach speaks from the place where he davens, at the side of the Aron Hakodesh. In Baranovich, Reb Yisrael Yaakov would speak from the front of the Aron Hakodesh. In Mir, Reb Yerucham would speak standing at the table in the center of the yeshivah, where the Torah is read. In Mir the regular shmuessen were usually delivered Friday night between Kabalas Shabbos and Maariv, and Saturday night before Maariv, and would last between an hour and an hour-and-a half. Every day the Mashgiach would conduct a vaad - an intensive discussion session, with different groups on various levels. And after meals, Friday night and Shabbos afternoon, he would meet with students in his house, always "shmuessing," constantly talking with the boys, immersed in the growth of each of his bachurim. He would begin in a barely audible voice. Then, as he would develop his thought, his voice would rise. A typical shmuess:

"Kedoshim ... You should be holy, because I am holy (Vayikra 19 ). " He would repeat the passuk several times to make it sink into their minds. "Imagine if someone would ask me to contribute ten thousand dollars to a charity because Rothschild also gave ten thousand dollars. - Some comparison! Rothschild is Rothschild-The Millionaire and I don't have a single dollar. Similarly, 'You should be holy,' why? 'Because I, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, am holy.' How can one even suggest such a comparison?"

He would then continue, citing quotations from Chazal and the Midrash, outlining the principles of kedushah: of Heaven ... in the Beis Hamikdash... in korbanos ... and the required kedushah demanded of us humans ... the way in which our kedushah can - and cannot - be compared to Heaven's kedushah. He would then end the shmuess with: "But after all, who is making this demand of kedushah? - an ordinary person? It's the Creator - He who knows our weaknesses and our strengths ... the chonein l'adam da'as, Who grants us the power to think deeply and loftily. If He demands 'Kedoshim tihiyu' it must be possible and within our reach."

One might add that in his private life Reb Yerucham was totally a kadosh. At the time of his petirah (passing), his Rebbetzin called out to the family and talmidim gathered in the house, "Kinderlach - Children, what do you know about him? He was a malach!"

Personality

According to an old adage, modern people say: "Know the world." Misnagdim say: "Know Torah." Chassidim say: "Know Hakadosh Baruch Hu." Mussarniks say: "Know yourself." Reb Yerucham encompassed all four "knows." He seldom left the yeshivah, hardly ever venturing out of the small town of Mir, yet he knew the world inside out. Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski would constantly seek his advice and opinion on the many decisions concerning Klal Yisrael ... He was a gadol in Torah, otherwise he could never have had such an impact on the lomdim of Mir ... As for Chassidic thought, when studying his shmuessen one gets the strong impression that he was well versed in many aspects of Kabbalah. Many of his thoughts obviously draw on the writings of the Maharal ... And how he knew himself! This insight into the human condition also applied to his talmidim - he knew them all. To their amazement, he knew them from every angle.

Foreign students, usually behind in their studies, were assigned a private "rebbe" for the first year in Mir. Rabbi Leib Baron, Rosh Yeshivah in Montreal, recalls that after he was paired up with a talmid, Reb Yerucham called him aside and said, "Your talmid is mentally unstable. Give him some extra attention." Rabbi Baron was shocked. For the past two months he had studied with the boy for several hours every afternoon. They ate supper and then studied together in the evenings. He had not noticed a thing, and now the Mashgiach was telling him that the boy was unstable. But he knew that the Mashgiach was not given to loose talk. He began to observe the boy more closely and he discovered unusual behavior patterns. Before long, the boy's father arrived, took him home and placed him in a private clinic for the mentally ill.

The "Reb Chaim Brisker" of the Mussar World

One could study an intricate passage in the famed commentary Ketzos Hachoshen and believe one had mastered it. After hearing the very same Ketzos explained by Reb Chaim Brisker (Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik), it would strike the student that this could not be the same Ketzos he had just studied. Reb Chaim Brisker would delve so deeply into the Ketzos that it was hardly recognizable. Similarly, one might study a page in Mesilas Yesharim (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's ethical classic, "The Path of the Just"), then hear a shmuess by Reb Yerucham on the very same page. How flat and shallow the page seemed in retrospect and how deep and far reaching it had suddenly become! Reb Yerucham's power of insight and clarity of explanation ranked him as the "Reb Chaim Brisker" of Mussar. Many a sefer was written on the need for Mussar study, but Reb Yerucham condensed it all in one sentence - quoting Reb Chaim Ozer Grodzenski, "A yeshivah without Mussar is a bor birshus harabbim - an open hazard in a public place." Rabbi Nisson Waxman tells that even before Reb Yerucham came to Mir, while still in Slobodka, his ability to influence others - even those that others had given up on - earned him the name "the Mechashef," the spellbinder. In Mir, in addition to his schedule of shmuessen, he talked individually with each boy. After just a few questions, he knew the boy's strengths and weaknesses, and could direct him in self-improvement.

Every prospective talmid was first interviewed by the Mashgiach. A few minutes of conversation, and he would tell the boy the city he had come from. Reb Yerucham maintained that each city makes a distinct impression on its sons, and he could thus recognize the origins of the newcomer.

Reb Yerucham would not permit any political activity in the yeshivah. Rabbi Meir Berlin of the Mizrachi once complained to him that none of the talmidim of Mir ever joined the Mizrachi, only Agudath Israel, to which Reb Yerucham replied, "In the Yeshivah we permit no parties. We only study Torah and Mussar. If as a result of this chinuch the b'nei Torah gravitate to Agudas Yisrael and not to Mizrachi, we have no apologies to make. Perhaps Mizrachi should do some thinking."

A Father to Children

When asked why he aged so fast, he replied, "You have one son, I have hundreds of them." Indeed he did, and he worried about them all.

The greatest problem for any yeshivah was the threat of military conscription. The Czar made no secret of his use of the army as a means of destroying any vestige of Jewishness his subjects possessed. This was obvious in that the number of Jewish soldiers was far out of proportion to their number in the general population. That Kashrus and Shabbos were impossible to keep in the army goes without saying. Anti-Semitism was rampant. And the term of service was anywhere from four to ten years. So to preserve their heritage, Jewish boys would do their best to avoid the relentless discriminatory pressures of the draft. Some would resort to feltchers (male nurses) who would perform a disabling operation, such as chopping off the index finger (one can not pull a trigger without an index finger) or a toe (one cannot march with a toe missing - and the Russian Army was always marching). This was done for a price, without any anesthetic, and the only medicine available for preventing infection in those days was alcohol. Those who could not afford the price or could not bear the pain crossed the border to Austria or Germany and continued on to America. Thousands who could do neither were forced to serve under insufferable conditions. The rich had one more method at their disposal - namely, hiring "a malach" (literally, "an angel"; here, a stand-in). Since photography was little used, a handicapped person would appear before the draft board in place of the draftee.

When my father received his draft notice, Reb Yerucham was deeply upset, until my grandfather Reb Shmuel Leib Shapiro assured him that he was taking care of everything. Indeed, when the draft board called out the name "Alter Shapiro," a one-legged man presented himself - a malach. Everything went smoothly, until one member of the board made a remark: "I do business with Shmuelky Shapiro. I've been at his house a hundred times, but I never knew that he has a one-legged son." The malach turned white, giving himself away, and was immediately arrested. And an arrest warrant was issued for the real Alter Shapiro.

My grandfather, a businessman who had many dealings with the non-Jewish landowners, was well known in the vicinity. After hiring the malach, he had made certain that the draft board would not ask questions. Unfortunately, one board member became ill, and he was replaced by another landowner who had not been coached in advance. Besides saving his son, my grandfather felt morally obligated to save the malach, even though the malach was responsible for his own undoing.

If that wasn't enough to keep my grandfather busy, a visitor came to Tiktin, taking yet more of his concern. Reb Yerucham personally traveled the five hundred-plus miles from Mir to Tiktin, at the peak of an unusually cold winter - much of the way by horse and sled. When the news of the incident had reached Mir, Reb Yerucham could not rest - how long would it take for the arrest warrant to reach Mir? And then what would be the fate of the cherished talmid, Alter Tiktiner? - a Siberian prison camp, or - worse yet - refuge in America? He could not permit this to happen, and thus undertook the strenuous journey. (The reader must bear in mind that the immigrants to America in the early years of this century were subjected to inexorable pressures to give up Sabbath observance and Kashrus, merely for survival, and rabbis were similarly pressed into either compromise or defeatism).

Reb Yerucham had known my grandfather from their years together in the Chofetz Chaim's Kodashim Kollel.7 Now, this most gentle of gentlemen talked tough to my grandfather: "Reb Shmuel Leib, let no notion cross your mind that Alter run to America," he protested angrily, gesturing into my grandfather's beard. "I'll never permit it to happen - under any circumstances!"

Grandfather apologized to Reb Yerucham for causing him to undertake the long trip under such terrible conditions. He explained that he had taken care of the draft board, but for the Heavenly intervention that brought one member down with an illness. He promised to use his influence on the alternate, and to spare his son.

At the next session of the draft board, the outspoken farmer apologized: "Of course, I've always known Shmuelky Shapiro's one-legged son. Can't figure why I forgot." He was supported on this by the chairman, and the case was closed. This episode had cost my grandfather a fortune in "minchah le'Eisav" payments. As for Reb Yerucham, whenever he was asked why his beard had turned prematurely gray, he would reply: "From each boy in the yeshivah, one hair - up to half my beard. From Alter Tiktiner, the other half."

Guarding the Fortress

Like a general guarding the last fortress of Torah, Reb Yerucham opposed any ben Torah moving away from Poland or Lithuania. When the Chofetz Chaim decided to move to Jerusalem (1925), Reb Yerucham was a member of the delegation organized by Reb Chaim Ozer Grodzenski, who approached the Chofetz Chaim to convince him that he was so needed by European Jews that he must not consider abandoning them. (The others in the delegation were Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz of Kamenitz, Rabbi Pesach Pruskin of Kobrin, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman of Baranovich, and Rabbi Leizer Yudel Finkel of Mir.) Similarly, when he heard of a Rosh Yeshivah about to settle permanently in America, he wrote him: "Two days ago it became known to us ... and we can't believe it ... that [the Rosh Yeshivah] thought of leaving us and his sacred position, to forsake his flock - like sheep without a shepherd - that you the great gaon should settle in America. Who am I, an insignificant flea, to stand up to the lion of the community ... Therefore, I shall ask his forgiveness for mixing into matters not concerning us, but in fact they do concern us very, very much.

"Under no circumstances may one forsake a makom Torah without clear permission from Heaven through a sha'alah b'Urim ve'Tumim (literally, a query before the High Priest's breastplate which spelled out replies to questions - here a reference to consulting an unimpeachable Torah source). Once one has accepted his calling in service to Hashem, how can he leave his post unless it is clearly the wish of Hashem - as clear as a response from the Urim ve'Tumim.

"I once thought of leaving Mir so I could settle in Kelm, but detected obstructions from Heaven. I threw the goirol (a selection process involving Biblical passages for the purpose of seeking guidance) and the passuk that surfaced astonished me: 'The staves shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it' (Shemos 25:15). It was clear the staves - the men who carry the Aron HaTorah - should never move from their place ... and from that moment I am beset with fears - even when the necessity is obvious - when faced with the prospect of leaving the yeshivah, even for a short time.

"Furthermore, we are afraid that your decision ... will destroy several yeshivos, as it will become a light matter in their eyes to pack up and leave for America."

In another letter he writes: "I write with tears ... We can see that the mere rumor of your settling there had adversely affected all yeshivah talmidim (for they feel that) they should follow the Rebbe wherever he goes."

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The writer of these lines has never been to Mir, and did not have the zechus to know Reb Yerucham personally or to ever hear his shmuessen. Then what compels him to write? First of all, my father was a talmid muvhak of Reb Yerucham. Moreover, there is not even one chapter on him in Tenuas HaMussar, Dov Katz's encyclopedic work on the Mussar Movement. The ranks of those who remember him and were influenced by him are diminishing. Soon there will hardly be anyone to tell us about him. I will awaken others to record their recollections. After all, how many Reb Yeruchams did Klal Yisrael have?

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1 Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer was known as Reb Itzele Peterburger, far he was Rav in the then-capital of Czarist Russia, St. Petersburg (now called Leningrad). This quotation is from his foreword to the sefer Ohr Yisrael, the collected writings of Reb Yisrael Salanter, which he published. [return to text]

2. Among others: Rabbi Yechiel Mordechai Gordon, Rabbi Aharon Kotler married the daughter of Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, of Slutsk (later Kletsk), Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky married the daughter of Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz, of Kamenitz. [return to text]

3. Moshe Turetzer (Bernstein) grew up to become the second son-in-law of Reb Baruch Ber Lebowitz, assuming the position of Rosh Yeshivah in Kamenitz, where he published an impressive sefer. In 1940, after Reb Baruch Ber's passing, Reb Reuvain Grozovsky escaped to America, while Reb Moshe Bernstein went to Jerusalem, where he founded the Kamenitz Yeshivah there. The yeshivah is now run by his two sons-in-law, Rabbi Yitzchak Sheiner and Rabbi Osher Lichtstein. Subsequently, Baruch Dov, a grandson of Reb Moshe Bernstein, married Alisa, a grandchild of Reb Yerucham Levovitz. [return to text]

4. The poverty did not diminish until 1914, when Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz, then Rav in Rakov and later in Tiktin, took upon himself the financial burden of the yeshivah. He carried this throughout his life, taking the yeshiva across Siberia to Japan and Shanghai, bringing the refugee scholars to the United States, there founding the American Mirrer Yeshivah in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. [return to text]

5. When literature of haskalah and apikorsus (called "treif-passul" in the yeshivah) began to find its way into the sleeping quarters of the yeshivah boys, someone told the janitor to look out for those treif-passuls while cleaning the rooms. Should he find any, he was instructed to burn them in the furnace. The shammos, a very simple fellow, then asked, "How can you tell which is a sefer and which is a treif-passul?" He was told that a sefer usually has its page numbers marked with the Alef-Beis, while treif-possul's are marked by numerals: 1,2,3 ... When the ten ba'alei Mussar arrived in Mir from Slobodka, each one brought with him a copy of the Mussar sefer, Mesilas Yesharim, which had just been reprinted in Kovno. They knew well that there were no Mussar sefarim in Mir. Unfortunately, the pages on the new Mesilas Yesharim were marked by numerals ... They were barely saved from a fiery destruction at the hands of the simple, overzealous shammos. [return to text]

6. He was once asked why he does not speak with the nigun hisorerus (emotionally-stirring chant) employed by other Mashgichim. Reb Yerucham replied, "As is, I feel ashamed to say a shmuess - who am I to criticize others and to give them Mussar? It is quite enough that I don't resign from this position, and you want me to 'say with a nigun' yet!" [return to text]

7. The Chofetz Chaim had issued a call (in his booklet "Hatzipisa Leyeshua? Did you Anticipate the Redemption?"): What will happen when Moshiach comes and finds that Klal Yisrael has totally neglected Kodashim (the section of the Talmud dealing with Temple ritual and sacrificial law)! The Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt - who will know the seder korbanos (how to conduct the Temple service)! He therefore founded a Kollel for the study of Seder Kodashim. My grandfather, a Kohein, joined, as did Reb Yerucham who was a Levi. For the rest of his life, every day before davening my grandfather maintained a study session in Kodashim with the mayor of Tiktin, Yisrolki Cohn, also a Kohein. [return to text]