Like a Burning Flame 

Ponevezh Rosh Yeshivah Rav Asher Deutsch didn’t just believe that a yeshivah student or kollel avreich should be occupied with Torah throughout the day, not just during study hours. He actually lived it

While many of the tens of thousands of mourners who accompanied Ponevezh Rosh Yeshivah Rav Asher Deutsch ztz”l to his final resting place last week had known him from his daily shiurim in the yeshivah’s beis medrash, perhaps only a fraction of them were able to truly grasp the depth of his teachings or appreciate the heights he’d achieved in Torah study during his lifetime.

“Rosh Yeshivah had tremendous talent, but he never made things easier for himself,” one talmid explained. “He fully utilized his sharp intellect and, combined with his renowned perseverance, achieved incredible heights in learning. His shiurim were so profound that students who hadn’t thoroughly prepared the sugya struggled to follow his reasoning.

“During his shiurim, he was like a burning flame,” the talmid continues. “He was completely absorbed in the sugya, oblivious to time. We once bought him a large wall clock and hung it in front of him to remind him when to conclude so that we could go and daven, but it didn’t help. We always had to remind him when it was time for the Minchah minyan.”

As part of his rare brilliance, Rav Deutsch was involved in writing and editing the lectures of Rav Shmuel Rozovsky, Ponevezh’s first rosh yeshivah, known for his extensive study of the commentaries and deep analytical approach. Other Torah luminaries, including current Slabodka Rosh Yeshivah Rav Dov Landau, entrusted their manuscripts to Rav Deutsch for his insights and annotations. After the passing of Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, Rav Deutsch was asked by Rav Shach’s son-in-law, Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman, to head the institute for the publishing of Rav Shach’s teachings.