A Crown Passed Along

Photos: Mattis Goldberg, AEGedolim, Family archives

Rav Yitzchok Hutner believed that even in America, it was possible to nurture a ben Torah who would live a life suffused with the spirit and majesty of Torah. And when he relocated to Eretz Yisrael, he knew the yeshivah community he left behind was in good hands. Because Rav Aharon Schechter’s mission went way beyond shiur. Last week the Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin Rosh Yeshivah returned to the world of the angels, yet like true royalty, he not only lived an exalted life, but lifted up all those around him, making them bigger too

The mandate of a museum is simply to preserve what was.

But the Torah is Toras chayim, vibrant and alive, so it is not sufficient — or even possible — to merely safeguard it. Its beauty must be transmitted, conveyed and communicated to new generations, in ever-evolving languages.

But how can one safeguard the treasure chest while also sharing its riches?

If the guardian and the teacher are one and the same, someone who understands that there is but one treasure, then there is no paradox between protecting and also sharing.

It can work if the great talmid is also a great rebbi.