Chaim Soloveitchik

Rabbi Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik (known as Reb Chaim of Brisk or Reb Chaim Brisker, 16 Adar 5613 - 21 Menachem Av 5678) was one of the greatest rabbinic figures of the previous generation, from the rabbinic Brisk family, and the founder of the well-known learning method - the Brisker method.

Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik

Life History

Rabbi Chaim was born in 5613 (1853) to his father Rabbi Yosef Dov HaLevi (Rabbi Yoshe Ber) Soloveitchik, the "Beis HaLevi," who was one of the great Torah leaders of his generation. In his youth, he learned with the Rogatchover Gaon (who came to study with his father, the "Beis HaLevi"). He studied at the Volozhin Yeshiva, and when he came of age, the Netziv of Volozhin, who served as the head of the yeshiva, took him as a son-in-law for his granddaughter (the daughter of his son-in-law Rabbi Raphael Shapira, who served alongside him as the assistant Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin and later became the Rosh Yeshiva and head of the Beis Din of Volozhin). After his marriage, he went to Slutsk following his father who was forced to leave the yeshiva. However, he returned to the yeshiva in 5633 (1873). At the age of 27, he was appointed as a teacher in the yeshiva and as the assistant to the Rosh Yeshiva. He was buried near his wife's grandfather, the Netziv, in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw.

In 5652 (1892), when the yeshiva closed, he became the rabbi of Brisk, although he stipulated that Rabbi Simcha Zelig Riger be brought as a halachic authority alongside him so that he would not need to deal with daily halachic rulings.

His Work and Proximity to Chassidus

Rabbi Chaim was especially known for his wisdom and righteousness. He greatly favored the Chassidim of his generation, and accordingly, he also wanted to arrange marriages with Jews who were part of the Chassidic movement. All his sons and daughters were matched with Chassidim and men of good deeds, except for one match.

Rabbi Chaim was among the leaders of Orthodox Judaism during that period, which he led together with other great Jewish leaders: the Rebbe Rashab, the Chofetz Chaim Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen of Radin, Rabbi David Friedman of Karlin, the Rebbe of Gur - Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter (the Sfas Emes) (after the passing of the Sfas Emes, the Gra"ch urged the publication of his writings on the tractates of Moed and Kodshim) and others.

His Friendship with the Rebbe Rashab

He was a close friend of the Rebbe Rashab. The friendship reached such a level that when the Rashab established Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim and wanted the students to be completely immersed in Torah study with depth and analysis as was customary in Chabad, he wanted to appoint the Gaon Rabbi Chaim of Brisk as the head of the yeshiva and offered him the position, but the offer did not materialize for various reasons.

In special letters from 5668 (1908) from the holy handwriting of the Rebbe Rayatz, one can learn about the great appreciation and friendship that existed between the Rebbe Rashab and Rabbi Chaim of Brisk:

The Rebbe Rashab writes to Rabbi Chaim in these holy words:

"To the honor of the great Gaon, famous throughout the world, the glory of Israel, stronghold and fortress, the fear of G-d is his treasure, his honor, the name of his glory, our teacher Rabbi Chaim HaLevi, may he live for many good and long days, head of the court of Brisk of Lithuania, may his light shine and blaze forever, after inquiring about the peace of his honor..."

And Rabbi Soloveitchik writes about the Rebbe Rashab with the following titles:

"Much blessing to the honor of the Rabbi, the great luminary, Sinai and uprooter of mountains, famous for his Torah, fear of Heaven, righteousness, and his deeds proclaim, established to benefit the public, etc., our teacher Rabbi Shalom DovBer, may he live for many good and long days, and all good to his high honor, may he live for many good and long days."

During Rabbi Chaim's final illness, the Rebbe Rashab wrote a strong letter of awakening to the members of the Brisk community, questioning how they were not making proper efforts and not paying adequately for Rabbi Chaim's medical treatment, and the Rebbe wrote special words to explain his greatness, which the community members did not fully appreciate.

They participated together in various activities and gatherings to strengthen Judaism. The Rebbe Rayatz, Rabbi David of Karlin, and other great Jewish leaders also participated in these gatherings.

Rabbi Yaakov Landau related that when the Rebbe Rashab would mention the names of rabbis, he would mention them without a title beforehand, except for Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, whom he would consistently mention with the title "Reb."

The Assembly in 5670 (1910)

In Shevat 5670, a committee of rabbis was formed to arrange the position of "government-appointed rabbi," in which all the great leaders of the generation participated. At that assembly, there were differences of opinion regarding whether the government-appointed rabbi should know the Russian language and minimal secular subjects. Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, supported by Rabbi David Friedman of Karlin and Rabbi Shmarya Noach Schneersohn of Bobruisk, favored this, while Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, supported by the Rebbe Rashab and the Chofetz Chaim, strongly opposed learning any other subjects. The Gra"ch spoke at the assembly, and during the assembly, the Gra"ch called on the Chofetz Chaim to come and speak, despite his advanced age and weakness.

During the breaks at that assembly, he would tell stories of tzaddikim as was his custom. He related that the Kedusha recitation of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev during the High Holy Days had the power to help barren women who heard it conceive, and Rabbi Chaim even proved this according to halacha in the revealed Torah, which greatly impressed the Chassidic elders.

During the days of those assemblies, the great geniuses of the generation stayed in a special hotel for that purpose. Rabbi Chaim spent most of his time with his friend, the Rebbe Rashab. When asked by his friends why he did this, he replied: "Although the Torah was given on Mount Sinai, the Holy Temple was built specifically on Mount Moriah where our forefather Isaac was bound, because holiness comes specifically through self-sacrifice."

The Rebbe Rayatz related that during the assembly, a discussion arose among the Chassidim about the wording of the Alter Rebbe in Igeres HaKodesh between Rabbi Mendel Chen, Rabbi Avraham Hornstein, and others, and only Rabbi Chaim remembered the exact wording.

At one of the forced assemblies held by the government, the great Orthodox leaders and, to distinguish, the Maskilim (enlightened ones) participated. The Gra"ch delivered a fiery speech, and since the Maskilim had nothing to answer, they snickered and laughed during the Gra"ch's words. Seeing this, the Rebbe Rashab left the assembly, leaving a note with his trusted assistant, Rabbi Mendel Chen. After the assembly, Rabbi Mendel demanded that the assembly investigate the matter of the Rashab's departure from the assembly, and while speaking, he opened the note that the Rebbe Rashab had given him, which read: "I cannot participate in an assembly where they mock the great leaders of Israel." In solidarity with the Rebbe Rashab's words, all the great leaders of the generation left the assembly. On that occasion, the Gra"ch said: "I envy the Rashab for having such a wonderful person as Rabbi Mendel Chen among his associates."

The Journey to the Assembly and Back

After that assembly, in Iyar 5670, the Gra"ch and the Rebbe Rashab came to Petersburg and stayed there until the end of the month of Sivan to arrange necessary matters for the public. On the holiday of Shavuot, the Gra"ch was a guest of the Rebbe Rashab, who was living in the city at that time. The Rebbe Rashab delivered a discourse on the Midrash Rabbah: "Bless the Lord, O my soul; just as the Holy One, blessed be He, fills the entire world, so too does the soul fill the entire body," and explained it according to the approach of Rav Saadia Gaon, that just as a person recognizes his vitality by seeing the vitality of his soul with his eye, so too is the vitality of G-d that fills and enlivens the entire world recognized with the eye. The Gra"ch delivered a discourse on the verse "The law of the Lord is perfect," based on what is brought in Midrash Rabbah: "Rabbi Yirmiyah and another, Rabbi Yirmiyah said why is it perfect? Because it restores the soul, and the other said why does it restore the soul? Because it is perfect."

It is related that when the Gra"ch and the Rebbe Rashab traveled together on their way to the assembly, passing through various towns, the Chassidim came to welcome the Rebbe Rashab, but they did not come to welcome the Gra"ch. The Gra"ch said: "Now I understand the difference between Chassidim and Misnagdim (opponents). Chassidim honor their Rebbe during his lifetime, but when their Rebbe passes away, they bury him immediately without delays and eulogies. In contrast, Misnagdim honor their Rebbe specifically after his passing, and then they elaborate with long eulogies, but while he is alive, they are not interested in honoring him."

During one of their journeys, the Gra"ch and the Rashab stopped in a remote town and prayed in a synagogue of Cantonists (Jewish children who had been forcibly conscripted into the Russian army). They saw one of the Cantonists approach the prayer stand and say: "Master of the Universe, what do we have to pray to You for? Should we pray for long life? What taste do we have from such a life? Children? We are already too old, and this is not possible according to the natural way. Sustenance? We have enough money and food. So what should we pray for, Master of the Universe? That 'His great name be magnified and sanctified!'"

Ordaining Rabbis for Halachic Ruling

Rabbi Chaim, as a leader of the generation, would ordain other rabbis for halachic ruling. When the holy Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the father of the Rebbe, wanted to receive ordination, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak came to Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, who indeed ordained him. (But he made it difficult for him because he was a Chassid, as mentioned in a talk.) His practice was that in addition to the questions he asked the candidate, he would also have the candidate respond to questions that came before him at that time.

When Rabbi Levi Yitzchak came to him, it was during the holiday of Sukkot, and at that time a question arose regarding the Shabbat of Sukkot in a certain place where they had forgotten to establish an eruv chatzeirot (ritual enclosure), and consequently, the residents of the place could not carry food and take it out from the house to the sukkah in the courtyard to fulfill the mitzvah of oneg Shabbat (Shabbat delight). The question came before Rabbi Chaim, who presented the question to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak ruled that the sukkah itself creates an eruv, and in this case, it is permitted to carry and bring food from the house to the sukkah on Shabbat.

The Rebbe explained the ruling by saying that the concept of an "eruv chatzeirot" is that the entire courtyard becomes one domain, and this is accomplished by taking bread or some kind of food in which all the residents of the courtyard participate, and placing it in the dwelling of one of them, and since "a person's dwelling extends only to the place of his bread," this place becomes a shared domain of all the residents of the courtyard. Now, when is this necessary? On the Sabbaths of the entire year, when each person eats in his own dwelling and not in his neighbor's dwelling, and therefore, in order to be able to carry in the courtyard, it is necessary to add a separate matter, that there should also be shared bread and eating for all the residents of the courtyard. But on the holiday of Sukkot, when everyone eats in the sukkah in the courtyard anyway, and a person's mind is where he eats his meal - there is no need for a separate eruv, since the meal of all the residents of the courtyard is in the same place and in the same matter.

His Method

His Learning Method

Rabbi Chaim innovated a learning method known as the "Brisk method." This method has become very widespread in the yeshiva world.

This method was defined in its time by Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, who aptly described Rabbi Chaim's uniqueness, calling it "primaryness": "And there is 'primaryness' also because of completeness. The tears and halves, the scattering and separation, come in distance of place and distance of time from the source and the root. At the root point there is no 'cutting of the plantings.' And this primary completeness exists in Rabbi Chaim's teachings. Not completeness in area and scope, but that which penetrates into the very essence of a matter and grasps its nature and substance. Its entire nature and entire substance. As long as we have not obtained the matter in its deepest treasures, it is not in our possession in all its completeness. It is possible, for example, that a person knows 'the entire Torah' and yet about even one thing from the Torah we cannot say that 'his learning is in his hand.' It is possible that a person understands an entire sugya with all its commentaries, Rishonim and Acharonim, and yet does not feel the essence of the point. It is possible that a person may engage in pilpul in a known sugya with both sharpness and breadth of knowledge, and not necessarily with empty pilpul, but with matters of substance, and nevertheless he circles around the point without reaching it. Then completeness is deficient in two senses: in what is lacking and what is excessive. The 'depths' are lacking, the inner essence of the matter, and excessive are all those explanations and innovations that have attached themselves to the topic from the outside, and are not really relevant. Completeness both connects and separates simultaneously. It connects all parts of the matter, and separates the foreign branches that have become mixed in."

Regarding Opposition to Chassidus

Rabbi Chaim was a grandson of the Gaon Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, who was the only student of the Vilna Gaon who did not participate in the gatherings organized by the Misnagdim against the camp of the friends of Hashem of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples, and did not take part in any of the steps they plotted against them. When Rabbi Chaim of Brisk was later asked about his association with Chassidim despite the war against them by the Vilna Gaon and his disciples, he said: During the dispute with the Chassidim, there were two camps among the Misnagdim; those who sought the truth and eventually found it, and on the other hand, those who sought to stir up strife. From the descendants of the latter, one must keep distance as from fire.

Rabbi Chaim of Brisk passed away in the year 5678 (1918), and was buried next to his wife's grandfather, the Netziv of Volozhin.

His Books

Rabbi Chaim himself composed his book "Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi on the Rambam." The book is known for its special importance, and even the Rebbe mentions it in Likkutei Sichos several times and discusses it, especially his innovation in the laws of prayer.

Additional books were published after his passing from his manuscripts and the writings of his students, and they are:

• Chiddushei HaGR"Ch on the Shas
• Chiddushei HaGR"Ch on Bava Kamma (Mi'Oraita)
• Chiddushei HaGR"Ch on Bava Metzia (Mi'Oraita)
• Kisvei HaGR"Ch V'HaGRI"Z (from copies by Rabbi Ephraim Mordechai Ginzburg)
• Miginzei HaGR"Ch (Johannesburg 5749/1989)
• Kisvei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi (manuscript)

His Students

• The Gaon Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz - author of "Birkas Shmuel"
• The Gaon Rabbi Shimon Yehuda Shkop - author of "Shaarei Yosher"
• The Gaon Rabbi Elchanan Bunim Wasserman - author of "Kovetz Shiurim" and "Kovetz He'aros"
• The Gaon Rabbi Shlomo Polachek, the Illui of Maytchet
• The Gaon Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky - author of "Chazon Yechezkel"
• His son, the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik - Reb Velvel
• His son, the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik
• The Gaon Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer of Slutsk, author of "Even Ha'Azel"

External Links

• Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin - "Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik," in the book "Ishim V'Shitos" (Personalities and Methods)