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Amazing! Who would of thought that nearly 100 years after the fact that, in America, we’d discover the only video of the Chofetz Chaim? It sends chills down our spines seeing this Malach Hashem, Ish Elokim, walking in front of our eyes. The man responsible for all of our betterment towards ceasing from speaking loshon hora, the magnum opus he is most famous for. His work of halacha being standard in every yeshiva, beis medrash and shul of every corner, segment, quarter and sect of Klal Yisroel – with his halachic rulings being the default bottom line for so many. And he didn’t even live so long ago from us!
There are very few, even, photographs of this great man. He was well-known for opposing people from taking pictures of him. And in some film canister buried in a university library among tens of thousands of other films never viewed or aired anywhere (Fox Movietone News, who produced this film, had never used this segment in its newsreels) it was unearthed after the persistent inquires over an over ten year period by a chosid in Williamsburg to the librarian in a far away State university.
The Chofetz Chaim, in the video, looks exactly the same as he looks in the famous photograph of him sitting in front of his house with a bunch of other people. There is also a passport photo of him when he was considering travelling to Eretz Yisroel. And there is a photo of him when he was going to visit the Polish premier. And, of course, the famous photo of him when he was much younger that is seen gracing the cover of many books and other places. The latter had recently been disputed if it were really him but it most likely is him when he was decades younger.
We also can see and feel the vibrant Torah life that permeated in pre-Churban Europe. Who, at the time, had any inkling that a few short years later a madman would overtake much of the European continent, home for thousands of years of the largest segment of world Jewry, and mercilessly slaughter us by the millions, virtually extinguishing our active presence within a five year period and exiling most of the remnants of us from our ancestral homes?
And in the great excitement of this phenomenal discovery something that has been vitally overlooked is that there are a whole list of Gedolei Yisroel ZT”L in this film that can be seen walking about. Gedolim heretofore never seen, certainly in animation, such as Rav Elchonon Wasserman hy”d and Chasidic Rebbes of yesteryear.
We can now feel Moshiach’s footsteps!
It would have been nice if you had included the link for those who haven’t seen it.
If you go on YouTube you can see videos of R Aron kotler and the Chazon ish also I admit they are not very clear im assuming you could probarly find some clearer ones like the one of the chofetz chaim which happens to be very clear for the day and age.
Meh. I’m still not sure it’s actually the Chafetz Chaim. Honestly, someone probably just found the most venerable-looking person he could in the film they had and called it the Chafetz Chayim. It does not look at all like the passport picture to me.
I’m curious if anybody knows of any Gedolim whether in America or Israel who have seen it
The Chofetz chaim is accompanied in the video by his son and grandson so that would be very strange if they didn’t recognize their father/grandfather.
Gavra_a,
Ssshhhhhhhh……..
I had a grandson of the Chofetz Chaim as a Rebbe when I was young. We asked him about the famous picture that’s on the cover of the seforim. He said, “My mother told me, ‘He looks like a nice frum Jew – but that’s not my father!'”
“The university has cataloged together the reel together with its original report, both available in their library.”
They also transferred it from the original film material to a more longlasting electronic format. The plastic base used for almost all motion pictures prior to about 1950 had a tendency to spontaneously conmbust! It is a miracle that the original lasted this long and for that we can be grateful.
And we can be thankful that the University of South Carolina has a film archive dedicated to preserving this kind of history. I will make a donation to them in the memory of my grandfather a’h who was an alumnus.
I have a copy of the photo of the Chofetz Chaim sitting in front of his home, and I agree that the video looks the same. The famous drawing everyone has- I have no comment on. But the video and the picture look the same.
I heard a lot of the info given about who
the other people are is inaccurate.
It certainly looks like the picture on his sefer. I will readily admit it made me cry to see him.
IF someone had to devise a plan to get the frummest most erlich people who have never been online in their life to be running and scrambling to get access, I can’t think of a better way then to put a video of “rare footage of the chofetz chaim” on youtube, that would do the trick.
however exciting this video is to see, i believe this is a “Maisah Sutton” (I heard this idea from a much more credible person then myself). i think people are more inspired by learning one minute of his teachings then to watch him walk across their computer or smartphone screen. call me crazy but isn’t it ironic that its a video of the “Chofetz Chaim” a man who is the author of the “shemiras halashon” who was careful about every word that came out of his mouth, HE ends up online!!, a place which is saturated with everything he stands against…. just a thought to think…
Although most of you are too young to remember the Chofetz Chaim, I am so old, that I was around and still remember the Chofetz Chaim, and it was very inspirational to see the Chofetz Chaim in motion on this newly released video after the last time I physically saw the Chofetz Chaim in motion some 82 years ago when I was a very young child.
147 would you please elaborate for the benefit of the younger generation?
As I already said, I was a very young child, so my early childhood memories are vague, as are everybody’s early childhood memories. But I was clearly told to pay special attention to look at the Chofetz Chaim and not not to forget him, whatever that means to a young child.
Ubiquitin, there was an article in Hamodia featuring an interview with Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky about his (extremely positive) reaction to the clip.
I’ve heard that Rav Yisroel Belsky was nispoel from it, and that Rav Shmuel Kaminetzky saw it and stood up for the Chofetz Chaim (my guess – not required l’halacha, just a hergesh).
People are more visual nowadays, they need to see stuff and people.
The video makes him real as opposed to a book that he wrote (Maybe for you its differnt, but most people a video changes things alot)
i believe this is a “Maisah Sutton” (I heard this idea from a much more credible person then myself
R’ K.K.?
???? ????? ???? ?? ????? is not a new concept.
People who learn the ????? of the ??? ???? are the ones who have the greatest appreciation of what he was and therefore are enthralled to see a living image of such greatness. I doubt seeing the clip will make one appreciate the seforim more, but the converse is definitely true.
If I wanted everyone to know… 🙂
Someone sent me a link to a YouTube video, where the owner of the Living Torah Museum talks about the video. He says that there is more video that hasn’t yet been released, which shows the Chofetz Chaim selling his seforim. He says there is also video of R’ Shimon Shkop, but they are hesitant to release it. Why? Because the video is of a shiur he gave at RIETS, and the people who have the video feel it’s not respectful of R’ Shkop to show him teaching at RIETS.
The title of the video is “Chofetz Chaim Video Originally Seen Years Ago With More Footage Not Released Yet “
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