The Words They Need to Hear

He had a firm rule about deciding halachah: first assess the person and only after decide the halachah. To only repeat what the Shulchan Aruch says is not a psak it’s only quoting a source. To pasken is the role of a moreh hora’ah who is given special siyata d’Shmaya (Photos: Lior Mizrachi; Family archives)

S tories often tell as much about the teller as the subject of the story. They say something about the listener too. For instance there is this well-known story about Rav Yisrael Zeev Gustman a spiritual giant who belonged to the generation before the Holocaust and afterwards established yeshivos in New York and Eretz Yisrael.

When Rav Gustman met Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky the Steipler Gaon for the first time he introduced himself as “Gustman from Vilna.” The Steipler asked him if his father was in Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky’s beis din. Rav Gustman answered no and the Steipler pressed further. Perhaps it was an uncle or other relation? Upon receiving a negative reply to this as well the Gaon realized that the young man standing in front of him was the dayan himself.

The story beautifully illustrates Rav Gustman’s greatness in Torah — he was chosen to serve as a dayan in Reb Chaim Ozer’s beis din when he was only 22 — and his humility. It’s easy to see why a mashgiach would want to include it in a shmuess.