Those few words spoke volumes, not only about Rav Dessler, but also about Rav Moshe
We had the privilege of hosting Rav Shapira at our shul in suburban Atlanta before Shavuos 11 years ago. He came at the invitation of an honored member of our kehillah, an accomplished talmid chacham who began his Torah journey in the Moscow yeshivah where, for a time, Rav Shapira spent Pesach and gave shiurim.
This man had completed both Talmud Bavli and Talmud Yerushalmi, and wrote a sefer analyzing the differences between the two. We scheduled a gala event to celebrate the double siyum and the publication of the sefer, and Rav Moshe Shapira agreed to attend, showing great kavod for his talmid.
Rav Moshe’s visit to Atlanta caused a sensation, and the siyum was packed. As rav of the shul, I had the singular honor of presenting Rav Moshe to the audience. Rav Moshe gave a stunning derashah contrasting the way Bavli cites a proof — using the words ta shma, “come and hear” — with the way Yerushalmi does it, using ta chazi, “come and see.” The entire day was a highlight of my career.
The next morning, I was honored to bring Rav Moshe on a tour of local mosdos. Having Rav Moshe and his entourage in my car for the 25-minute drive was momentous; I had thought long and hard about how to begin the conversation. Knowing that he had lived with Rav Eliyahu Dessler as a youth, I asked, “Could the Rav tell us what type of person Rav Dessler was?”
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