A true Kavod Hatorah! On Sunday night the Monsey community flocked in droves to the LifePlex Plaza to hear words of Hesped and inspiration upon the Petirah of the Sar Hatorah, Maran Rav Chaim Kanievsky ZT”L. As word of the distinguished and inspiring speakers went out, the organizers were contacted by local Roshei Yeshiva to find a venue large enough to host the local Yeshiva Bachurim. Additionally, requests for special Yeshiva seating came in from Yeshivos in neighboring Passaic and even as far as Boston. After consulting with the dedicated and professional Rockland Chaveirim volunteers to formulate a plan for the logistics of a venue this size, the preparations were underway. Chairs were rented, a stage was set up and a large empty warehouse was transformed into a hub for Kavod Hatorah. Thousands of Bachurim, Yungerleit and Baalei Batim, Litvish and Chasidish, united in mourning the loss of the undisputed Sar Hatorah of our generation.

The Maamad opened with a heartfelt Tehilim led by Rav Eliezer Simcha Lieff and then the program began with opening remarks by Rav Asher Dovid May. Rav May quoted a Gemara that Moshe Rabeinu was the greatest in Maasim Tovim and explained that the greatest person in Torah will translate into the greatest in Maasim Tovim as well. He relayed that after the Steipler was Niftar, Rav Chaim told his sister Rebetzin Barzan that although he is the only son and the sole “Yoresh”, she can inherit all the Sefarim (Kehilos Yaakov etc.) of the Steipler and sell them to the public. After Rav Chaim was pressed for an explanation, he said that being that she was an Almanah, and she sold them on behalf of the Steipler, he was concerned that if he were to begin selling them, nobody would knock on her door and she may feel somewhat empty and irrelevant.

The next speaker was Rav Yitzchok Sorotzkin who prefaced his words by saying that Rav Chaim was a “Chad B’Dara”, one in a generation. He continued by quoting Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, the late venerated Rosh Yeshiva of Beer Yaakov who said about a twenty-six-year-old Rav Chaim, that he would have been a “Chiddush” a phenomenon, even in generations of a few hundred years ago! Rav Sorotzkin highlighted the continuance of Rav Chaim’s learning, literally nonstop – for an entire lifetime – and beseeched the crowd to at least elevate our standards and goals.

The final speaker was Rav Eliyahu Mann who brought the flavor of the Eretz Yisroel Maspidim to America as he emotionally recalled many of his personal interactions with Rav Chaim over the last thirty years. He relayed that the Steipler once told someone that all issues with children can be resolved through Tefilah, and that a day does not go by that he doesn’t shed tears for his son “Chaimel”. Rav Mann told this to Rav Chaim and after initially asking if it came from a reliable source, Rav Chaim turned white as a ghost. He was visibly touched that his father still cried for him and felt a responsibility to live up to his fathers’ expectations.

As the somber crowd quietly filed out of the room, there were mixed feelings. There were feelings of sadness as they had just learned of new levels of greatness of the man they had already known to be great. But there were also feelings of pride, as we realized that we merited to get a glimpse into the greatness of yesteryears, in our lifetime. An experience that is both demanding of us and, yes, historic.

Zechuso Yagen Aleinu.