Venerable individuals still among us share their recollections of personal encounters with yesteryear's giants
Bnei Brak, Israel
The Ponevezh rosh yeshivah, Rav Berel Povarsky shlita, grew up in Baranovich, which belonged to Poland at the time. His father, Rav Dovid Povarsky, studied in a kollel affiliated with the Ohel Torah Yeshivah of Rav Elchonon Wasserman. When the war broke out, the family spent a yearlong stint in Vilna. Though he was only ten years old when he and his family escaped from Europe, Rav Berel still vividly remembers the princes of Europe’s Torah world that he met during his youth.
During his years in Baranovich, Rav Dovid Povarsky had a daily chavrusa study session with Rav Elchonon Wasserman. This brought the young Berel into close contact with the gadol hador. “I may be one of the only ones left who saw Rav Elchonon,” he says. “I saw many great people throughout my life and yet Rav Elchonon stands out in stature.”
Young Berel listened when his father would describe the learning style of his prestigious chavrusa. Before he’d get engaged in any long discussion or analysis, Rav Elchonon would immediately write down his first impression of the sugya. That initial flash of inspiration was ultimately the true pshat that Rav Elchonon coveted. And it later became an iconic sefer. “My father saw the Kovetz He’aros being written, when it was still in its embryonic stages.”
Rav Elchonon delivered a shmuess in his home every Motzaei Shabbos before Maariv. As a child, Rav Berel would accompany his father to the shmuess. “As the only child present, my weekly job was to hold the Havdalah candle for the Rosh Yeshivah.”
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