L ast Tuesday the Jewish nation stood bowed by loss and grief. But only with the passage of days weeks and months will we truly understand just what Rav Steinman did for Am Yisrael and Toras Yisrael throughout the world — how he reigned over the Torah world from his humble little room on Rechov Chazon Ish with unparalleled clarity and wisdom.
Last Tuesday my heart was heavy as I walked among the hundreds of thousands who came to pay their last respects to Rav Aharon Leib Steinman. I’m sure many were troubled by the same thoughts that troubled me: How will tomorrow and the next day look for the chareidi world and for the entire world? True the same doubts arose when we lost Rav Elazar Menachem Shach ztz”l and again upon the loss of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ztz”l. But there is one basic difference. Rav Steinman ztz”l was the last survivor of a generation of giants the last of those who came after the Holocaust to restore the Torah to its place at the center of our lives the last link in a chain of leaders who stood head and shoulders above the ordinary man to guide him through the maze of life and through the crooked paths of Israeli politics. That chain of leadership began with the Chazon Ish and passed through the hands of the Brisker Rav; from him to the Steipler Gaon then to Rav Shach to Rav Elyashiv and finally to Rav Aharon Leib Steinman ztz”l the last link in that chain of greatness.
One of the Chazon Ish’s greatest talmidim a gaon of the present time said that Rav Aharon Leib’s approach to life reminded him of the Chazon Ish. And in fact the Chazon Ish would stand up when Rav Aharon Leib entered his room — even when the latter was just a 30-year-old yungerman.
We know of course that HaKadosh Baruch Hu placed His world in the reins of handpicked guardians and does not leave the Jewish People widowed. We are confident that other gedolim will arise to take these reins of leadership. But still this loss feels staggering. It is hard to fathom who can fill his place.
