Silence That Speaks

Around age ten, he moved with his parents to Eretz Yisrael to join the Steipler Gaon and the Chazon Ish in Bnei Brak (both his mother and father had the last name “Karelitz,” and his mother Basya was the sister of the Chazon Ish). Young Nissim was one of the first students to attend the newly established Yeshivas Ponevezh.

During his teenage years, Rav Nissim grew very close to the Chazon Ish. When the Chazon Ish became ill, he was one of the two people who ministered to him. Rav Nissim acquired most of his Torah from his uncle, as well as his proclivity for silence. The family related that he would speak only when he had to and even then, he was terse.

Every now and then, he would share his memories of the Chazon Ish, as they pertained to specific matters of halachah.

When Rav Nissim heard from a family member that he had spent many hours looking for arba minim, he called him and said, “After his marriage, my father saw that the Chazon Ish spent a lot of time buying arba minim. One day, he asked if it wasn’t preferable to buy adequately kosher arba minim and then use the rest of the time to learn. The Chazon Ish replied that he had spent all that time looking for kosher arba minim. Meaning: In the eyes of the Chazon Ish, if there was a slight question or doubt, then he did not have kosher arba minim.” Rav Nissim added to that person: “One can be mevatel Torah for hiddurim but one needs to know what is considered hiddur and what is truly questionable.”