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Rav <insert name> was born in <insert year> in the small town of <insert location>.
He was recognized at a young age as being a genius. He began learning gemara at the age of 3. At his bar mitzvah, he made a siyum on Talmud Bavli and Talmud Yerushalmi b’iyun.
At his aufruf, he made a siyum on Shas, having just completed memorizing the entire Bavli with Rashi and Tosafos.
He married <insert wife’s name>, the daughter of the illustrious Rav <insert name>. She was to remain by his side, supporting his learning, for the rest of his/her life.
He became the youngest maggid shiur in <insert Yeshiva name> at the age of 22. At 25, he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva, a post he was to hold for the rest of his life.
He was an amazing mechanech. Students told of how he never was too busy to assist them in anything they needed – all while sticking to his rigorous schedule of learning 27 hours per day. He slept only half an hour every day, yet it never seemed to affect him.
At his levaya, 50 billion people came to pay their respects. Many people who never met him were seen weeping. He impacted the whole world.
This is my basic template for an Artscroll biography. This was inspired by the other thread about them.
He married <insert wife’s name>
A *true* gadol biography would never mention the name of his wife. 🙂
The Wolf
Both Feif and Wolf +1
I can’t believe that he slept only a half hour a night. The Rambam and the Steipler say that you need to sleep eight hours a night. Furthermore, it’s physically impossible, and ain somchin al haness. This guy was oveir on two aveiros, and you haven’t even gotten to page two.
Feif Un
Artscroll doesnt lie. The biographies are facts. Maybe they leave out some meaningless facts that you can find in making of a Gadol but everything artscroll writes about the Gadolim is fact. I dont see what bothers you.
Feif,
Perhaps you can quote for us the salacious details in the book about R JB Soloveitchik. I am sure that YU included all of them when they published the books about him.
No one makes you read Artscroll. You don’t enjoy, don’t read. It’s that simple.
It is quite likely that it has to do with a fundemantal difference. People who look at limudai kodesh as no different that secular studies believe the purpose is just to tell over history. Those who understand that there is a difference understand that the purpose of the stories are to learn from these tzadik in and to try to emulate them. If the purpose is to learn kiddos and lessons, what is the point of publishing details that are not germane.
The stories published in these books are not false, which cannot be said for the “history” books. You want to satisfy your cravings for lecherous details, go elsewhere.
veltz meshuggener
It could be that is what the Steipler advised Bochurim but he was known to learn 36 hours straight and then sleeping 8 hours.
I’m not so sure that books that have embarrassing stories of gedolim should be written, though I agree that just about every biography is written in the same way, with the same superlative descriptions.
Just about the only biography I ever enjoyed is about Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld. The book doesn’t go on and on ranting about how smart he is. Though it gives clear examples of his amazing and worldly wisdom, that will teach any person how to be a mensch and put a head on their shoulders.
Feif,
Basically you did not respond.
I am curious as to who your “Rav” is that you keep quoting. I wonder if he is a bar samcha. I am really not convinced that he is based on how you quote him. Nor am I convinced that your quotes are accurate.
Resh Lakish was a Robber and became a Amorah. Do you have any less respect for him because he was a Robber at an earlier time in his life
Feif,
Right. Thanks for the clarification.
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