Stories about R Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg

The following hanhagos and customs of the Rosh Yeshiva were collected mainly from the seder A Gadol in Our Midst.

The great gaon and tzaddik Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg zatzal was makpid to daven for the amud 3 times a day every day. He would cry by every tefilla (in certain parts, like when he reached the bracha of bonei Yerushalayim).

He wore (at one point) 300 pairs of tzitzis. This required tremendous mesiras nefesh and causes him yissurim (skin problems), as there was a time when his apartment had no AC and he had rashes from wearing so many layers of clothing. The number of tzitzis he wore went down due to medical reasons. At one point, a person brought him a pair of tzitzis, which (if I understand correctly) Rav Scheinberg did not have the koach to put on by himself. He literally BEGGED the person to put it on him, and said, “I will give you anything you want.” (The person was reluctant to put the tzitzis on the Rosh Yeshiva, as for medical reasons he was not supposed to be wearing so many tzitzis.)

He discouraged others from copying his minhag of wearing many pairs of tzitzis.

All of his tzitzis were the same. (The reason he wore so many tzitzis was NOT because he wanted to be mekayem the mitzvah according to all views, but because every beged is a separate mitzvah and because there are people who don’t wear them at all.)

He made a tnai that if any of his tzitzis should become possul, they should automatically become hefker. He was not concerned about them becoming possul on Shabbos, as there was an eruv where he lived. He did not check his tzitzis every day, but held that nowadays one should check tzitzis once a month.

He wore tefillin the entire day, in accordance with the opinion of the Vilna Gaon. He continued to wear his tefillin long after shkia, in accordance with the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch. On Friday, he would remove his tefillin 10 minutes before shkia.

He did  not eat bread and/or meat (I believe it was both) unless it was served at a seudas mitzvah. (Even if he himself was not by the seuda, but the bread/meat was served there, then he would eat it when it was brought to him.)

He forbade smoking and told people that it causes lung cancer.

In terms of psak, he was extremely makpid that Mincha should be davened before shkia. If one could not daven Mincha before shkia on Friday, he advised such a person to be mekabel Shabbos and daven Maariv twice. He also advised to daven sitting down before shkia as opposed to standing up after shkia.

He was extremely makpid that no one should collect in his yeshiva during seder, and no one should give those who collected then (although he himself would give such a person so that he wouldn’t feel bad about not being able to collect then).

He treated goyim (who worked in his yeshiva) with respect. He rebuked (if I remember correctly, even expelled) a bachur who got into a fist-fight with a goy in the yeshiva.

He repeated the word “nihiye” when making a shehakol, as there are different opinions as to how it should be said.

When counting sefira, he said both “laomer” and “baomer,” as there are different opinions as to which is correct, and he wanted to be yotzi according to all views. [However, this word is not me’akev, and even if omitted, one is yotzi, so it is not clear to me why the Rosh Yeshiva was makpid about this.)

He permitted drinking cholov stam in America (like Rav Moshe).

He held that it was a Chillul Hashem to drive a dirty car.

He was makpid to daven vasikin (every day?)

He wore Rabbeinu Tam’s tefillin.

He would observe a taanis dibbur every Shabbos, speaking only divrei Torah, etc. but no mundane words. If he wanted to say something, he would quote a possuk from Tanach to convey what he wanted to say. [This practice the Rosh Yeshiva took on as a zechus for his sick daughter.]

He permitted folding a tallis on its creases on Shabbos. [This was a chiddush to me, as the long-standing custom of all bnei Torah is not to fold a tallis on Shabbos.]

edited

MODS: I figured you might take out that part, but it is the emes. But OK.

I do not doubt the emes and it is only due to our own levels that some information is deemed not necessary to share

The previous Gateshead Rov said the brocho ‘She’cholak mechochmoso li’yerei’ov’ when Rav Scheinberg visited Gateshead.

Rav Scheinberg was asked what one should do if he is davening SE on a plane in such a way that he is blocking something that the flight attendant needs access to, and the Rav recommended that one should point to the siddur that he is holding in his hand and she will chop that he is davening and will wait for him to finish.

I really dont belive a Rav would say this. A person has no idea why the flight attendent needs to see a passenger. It could be a silly thing like the person needs a pillow or a blanket or it could be the passenger is feeling ill (Getting ill on a plane is quite common) and the flight attendent will not know until they get to the passenger who needs them

Yseribus, which is why he said one shouldn’t even start following sports, since even after getting out of it, to his regret it can still distract one from Torah.

At one point, the Gaon Rav Scheinberg made a Kiddush to celebrate the fact that he no longer felt any emotion at all when hearing the fact that the Yankees won. But it took him a while to get to that point.

About the dirty car – It’s in the book that I mentioned.

The story about R’ Scheinberg making a kiddush after the Yankees won is completely untrue. I say this in full confidence as I am his great granddaughter and my grandparents said it is not true!