Editing Joseph Dov Soloveitchik (Boston) (section)

==== Judge for Yourselves Whether I Am a Chabad Chassid... ====
At a certain gathering, the Rabbi said:

"I am a descendant of the house of Volozhin, and as is known, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin was a student of the Vilna Gaon who opposed Chassidut. But after my speech, you can judge for yourselves whether I am a Chabad Chassid...

In the house of Volozhin, the following story is told and accepted: When the dispute over Chassidut began, the Alter Rebbe and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev traveled to Vilna to speak with the Vilna Gaon. They went to the 'Kloiz of the Chassid' - as the Vilna Gaon's synagogue in Vilna was called, where the Vilna Gaon would sit and study in the attic. The Alter Rebbe and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak began climbing the stairs to the Vilna Gaon's room, but as soon as he felt that someone wanted to enter, he closed the door and jumped out the window. The reason for this was that when the Vilna Gaon saw the Alter Rebbe's countenance, 'and how beautiful it was, and what a power of attraction it had,' he feared that if the Alter Rebbe would enter and speak with him, he would defeat him and make him a Chassid, until finally both would go to spread Chassidut, and therefore he escaped through the window.

Certainly the dispute spread mainly because of those who stirred up strife... I do not accept what they say that the Vilna Gaon saw the Tanya, because certainly if he had seen it, all his claims would have been nullified. The Alter Rebbe was a wonderful scholar in matters of faith. Since the destruction of the Temple, there was no one among the great scholars of Israel as learned as he was, except for Maimonides...

After all the disputes, the fact is that eventually the teachings of Chassidut triumphed and spread throughout all Jewish communities..."