Who met Rav Elyashev?

Choppy: I was Zoche to speak to him shortly several times after Davening and discuss Halachic issues with him (and by “discuss” I mean I would ask a Shaila and he would answer and I would sometimes ask a Kashya on his answer which he would quickly and easily explain; except for once when I felt his answer was unsatisfactory and that he hadn’t completely understood my Kashya (my Hebrew wassn’t so great) but I was too timid to try and ask again-Lo Habayshan Lamed).

I went to daven in his minyan for shacharis. I knew one of his gabbais who told his son to hook us up with brachos after davening. So I got a personalized bracha from him. Definitely something I cherish

my wife’s family is related to R’ Elyashiv through the Leshem. My wife and I, together with my in-laws were zocheh to spend a few minutes with the Rov. It was quite obvious that although he was very pleasant to us, his main concern was learning and wasn’t a “shmoozer” rather just interested in answering any shailos we had for him.

I was zoche to hear his nightly gemara shiur 2 1/2 years ago. I remember he was saying on Perek Kol Hakeilim in Shabbos. I was so exhausted from ruuning around to all the yeshivos but when the “milchamtan shel torah” went on it was a sight to see! When the chashuve bale batim asked R’Elayashiv kashyos on the gemara with a bren, R’Elyashiv would simply reply back (in his calm voice) that its found on Daf 6b Rashi etc…

I was told by a mispallel in my shul how to get a bracha from him. He said, stand by the doorway where he leaves the shiur & ask his son if you can get a bracha. I did as he said, I asked his son “shayach bracha?” He replied “Lo achshav.” However, I felt the kedusha in his 4 aamos as he walked through the line of people!Aww oh well…Then R’Elyashiv got onto his golf cart to get driven home, people started chasing him to ask shaalos or get brochos. I couldn’t belive how you can bother a person who is 100 years old, let alone kavod hatorah?!

This was my experience with R’Elyashiv & I will never forget it. May R’Elyashiv zt”l be a meilitz yosher for gantz klal yisrael & may we be fortunate not to have to sit again on the floor this year & rejoice with the Binyan Bayis Shlishi! B’suros tovos!

Rav Elyashiv was the sandek of my chavrusa’s youngest son. The chazzan leaned over to ask the father for the name, and then stood up and announced “V’yikaro Shmo B’Yisrael: Avraham Yitzchak ben Ya’akov”! There was some chuckling from everyone, and Rav Elyashiv himself gave a small smile.

From a comment on another site:

I was once in miluim on the Lebanese border and received a message from my bank that a rather large check that I had deposited had been returned because of insufficient funds. After a short investigation, I discovered that the person who had given me the check was scheduled to leave Israel that very night. In Israel, giving someone a check without coverage is a felony and there is a government office called hotza’ah lapoal – which is an arm of the court system – which one can use to collect the debt. However, it was doubtful that I – or my lawyer – would be able to finish and submit the necessary paper work on time to be able to collect before my client left the country. My only option was to have the police issue a warrant preventing him from leaving the country until I could submit the paperwork to the court. To get the police to do so, I would have to personally appear at national police headquarters in Yerushalayim. I was unsure as to whether the entire procedure was tantamount to going to a secular court and whether I was allowed to do so without first attempting to take him before a beit din.

I told my commanding officer that I needed the rest of the day off as I had to immediately travel to Yerushalayim to ask Rav Elyashiv a question. He could not understand why I needed to ask him – aren’t there any rabbis who live closer – but I convinced him that there was no point in explaining as he would never understand why I had to go to a rabbi before going to the police. He let me go and by hitchhiking, I got to Rechov Chanan in Meah Shearim at exactly 7:05 P.M. Trouble was, in those years, Rav Elyashiv only received the public until 7:00 and the door was closed. I knocked and the rebbitzen opened the door and sweetly explained that I would have to return the next afternoon. I was standing there in an Israeli army uniform. I explained to the rebbitzen that I was in miluim in Lebanon and could not return the next day and I needed to ask the rav a question.

She told me to wait at the door and went into the room to ask him if he would see me. She returned a moment later and said that the I should accompany the rav to ma’ariv. You can just imagine the scene, walking through the Meah Shearim shuk with the rav while dressed in a rather unkempt uniform with an M16 on my shoulder.

Oblivious to the stares of the passers by who were watching the strange scene, Rav Elyashiv asked me what was on my mind. I told him that I had a shayla in Choshen Mishpat, whereupon he looked at me with a big smile and said: “Choshen Mishpat! When did that become part of Shulchan Aruch. Very few people have questions about Choshen Mishpat. They ask about Orech Chaim, Yoreh Deah and sometimes about Even ha-Ezer. But Choshen Mishpat they’re quite content to pasken on their own.” I laughed and asked the question as to whether I could go to the police and then later to hotza’ah lapoal without getting permission from a beit din. He responded that there was no reason not to use the police and the court as a collection agency. As we walked up the stairs to Tifferet Bachurim, the shul above the Meah Shearim shtieblach where he davened and learned, he turned to me and said: “You must be a tzaddik if you came all the way from Lebanon to ask a shaylah in Choshen Mishpat. I’ll give you a berachah that you should be matzliach and collect the debt without delay.”

He responded that there was no reason not to use the police and the court as a collection agency.

If that’s all there doing, why not. Since they are not incarcerating him, only collecting a valid debt. And the Rav would talk and be nice with a chiloni too.

When i was in the Mir, i went a few times to daven maariv motzei shabbos in his house. He davenned maariv 20/25 minutes after shkiah, which is the old yerushalmi minhag. After maariv he said gut voch and brocha vehatzlocha to all those who were there.

We also used to go on chanuka to watch him tzin licht. he lit 10 mins after shkiah, and in those days the crowd in rechov chanan wasnt too big. The whole process took about 2 minutes. (His neighbour lit about 5 minutes earlier and enjoyed the crowd, as he made the brochos in a loud chazonish voice)

I was never zoche to see him. However, my father in law was very close to him. When my wife and I were going through fertility treatments, my father in law asked him for a bracha for us. Instead of the usual “bracha v’hatzlacha” he gave, he pulled my father in law over and started asking him details about our case. He then advised him on what treatments we should do.

Last night, my brother in law sent us pictures of R’ Elyashiv from his wedding. I don’t know if he was the mesader kiddushin. The pictures are from the kabalas panim, and you can see R’ Elyashiv reading over the kesuba, then discussing something in it with my father in law.

I heard 2 stories first hand from a person who is around 35 & it happened with R’Elyashiv during his Eretz Yisrael year (go figure which year lol).

1. It was Erev Succos 2 hours before Yom Tov and he was putting up a string succah & boarding it up with cardboard in order to hold it up in case of wind etc. R’Elyashiv was passing by on the way to Shul when he came across the scene and he stopped. R’Elayshiv asked him “What are you doing?” He replied “Im giving strength to the succah in case of wind/rain.” Without a flinch, R’Elyashiv paskened “Since between Pesach and Succos it’s a ruach sheina metzyua (abnormal wind) in Eretz Yisrael, it’s not necessary to put the cardboard on. Ironically, it rained Hoshana Rabah!

2. Shmini Ateres that year (Simchas Torah for Eretz Yisrael), in the Meah Shearim Shtiebel (R’Elyashiv’s Shul) were 2 minyanim going on at the same time. One was laining V’zos Habracha (Eretz Yisrael) & upstairs was laining Aser T’aser (Chutz L’aretz). The shamash screamed “Tarta D’sasri!” (contradiction). His minyan continued, so the gabbai started hitting bal koreh with his shtreimel! He told the shamash (humorously) “lets go to the Rav!” Then he thought–oops! The both went to R’Elyashiv & he told over the story. Again R’Elyashiv gave a fast psak. He looked up & said firmly “It’s wrong to lain 2 different lainings in 1 shul AND it’s wrong to hit another yid. But such a Tarta D’sasri Hashem loves & I permit you to continue!!!

This was R’Elyashiv zt”l’s gadlus & pashut p’sakim with a vast Torah knowledge!