torah from shabbas nachamu 5773

7/27/2019 Torah from Shabbas Nachamu 5773

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New Stories-Vaeschanan-Nachamu 5773

8th of Menachem AV was the Yartzeit of Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv ben Rav Yisrael Broide (18241898), also known as The Alter of Kelm (theElder of Kelm), was one of the foremost students of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Mussar movement. He was thefounder and director of the Kelm Talmud Torah. Zecher Tzadik VKadosh Livracha!!!!

The Kelm Talmud Torah

HaRav Yeruchom Levovitz, the famous mashgiach of Mir in Europe, wrote: To me it is obvious that anyone who entered the Talmud Torah in

Kelm, even once, was moved to repentance. (See full quote below) It is in this vein that we are presenting this collection of recollections ofKelm now at the beginning of Elul when all thoughts turn to teshuvah. Although an entry into the thought and spirit of Kelm certainly does nothave the full

impact of a physical visit, this is the best we can do today. Halevai that it has this impact on us!It is ironic, though perhaps hardly surprising, that we are far better acquainted with many of the offshoots of Kelm than we are with Kelmitself. HaRav Dessler ztl, HaRav Chatzkel Levenstein ztl and HaRav Elya Lopian ztl, each of whom played a major role in building the

postwar yeshiva world, were all products of Kelm. Even today, we still feel the influence of one of Kelms earlier products, HaRav YeruchomLevovitz ztl, the famous Mirrer mashgiach. Though he was niftar in Mir before the war, his many prominent talmidim carried his memory withthem to other lands, where they perpetuated his teaching and his standards. But how much do we know about the founder of the Kelm approachto mussar, the Alter of Kelm, HaRav Simchah Zissel Ziv ztl? How many of us know, for example, that he was one of the three foremosttalmidim of HaRav Yisroel Salanter ztl? What do the names, HaRav Tzvi Hirsch Broide ztl (the Alters son-in-law) and HaRav DonielMovshovitz ztl, Hyd, the last leader of the Kelm Talmud Torah, mean to us? Who were HaRav Nochum Zev Ziv ztl and HaRav GershonMiadnyk ztl, Hyd? Beis Kelm is the title of the recently-published sixth volume in a series devoted to the spiritual heritage and the towering

personalities of Kelm mussar. Previous volumes in the series, which is published by Machon Sifsei Chachomim, presented some of the writingsof the members of this school of mussar, such as their chiddushim, notes and records of spiritual undertakings. The new volume illuminates thelives of the great men who led the Talmud Torah for the eighty years of its existence, first in Grobin and later in Kelm.

Their stories are not meant to serve as mere biographies but as a means of arousing yiras Shomayim and as a spur to personal mussar growth.Indeed, it is impossible to read about the Alter and remain unmoved. Every line written about him prompts the reader to measure himself againstthe exalted levels of humanity that he attained. The question, and where are we? that automatically surfaces, compels us to take new stock ofour own situations.

The book is a laboriously documented collection of hitherto unpublished stories and notes that were collected from some of those who hadfirsthand knowledge of Kelm. For example, there are stories and notes gathered from HaRav Elya Lopian, by yblcta, his talmid HaRav GedaliahEisemann and stories related by HaRav Nochum Abba Grossbard ztl, which were recorded by his talmid, HaRav Chaim Friedlander ztl. Thisarticle and those that follow it, survey the wondrous characters of the men that presided over one of the most famous schools of mussar, where

many of the great men who planted and nurtured HaRav Yisroel Salanters mussar approach within the yeshivos, developed.

The Alter

The Alter was awe-inspiring. He didnt leave behind anyone who could even be regarded as a shadow of himself. The source of this boldevaluation was someone who measured his words carefully no less a figure than the Mirrer mashgiach Reb Yeruchom, as quoted by HaRavChatzkel Levenstein.

On another occasion, Reb Yeruchom shared his recollections of the Alters beis hamedrash. When we were fortunate to hear the Alter[speaking] in the Talmud Torah, our minds and emotions felt as though we were standing at Har Sinai hearing the voice of Hashem. This wasdue to the singular influence of looking at him, [contemplating] his holiness and his very profound wisdom.

Reb Yeruchoms acquaintance with the Alter was brief. In one of his shmuessen in Mir that appears in Daas Torah, Reb Yeruchom told histalmidim, I would like to reveal something to you that all my life, I have never revealed to a soul:

I came to Kelm as a bochur, an ordinary bochur like any other. After I merited hearing our master and teacher, the man of genius and piety, RebSimcha Zissel just a short time afterwards - - he passed away. In my bitterness, I went [and stood] behind the wall of the room where he waslying. I stood there all day crying and screaming. I neither ate nor drank. I still remember what I was telling myself: I had only just begun tounderstand what man is and what his obligations are. My eyes had just begun to be opened after hearing you speak a few times and now, youhave leftme...

I stood there like that all day . . . All my life I will feel that if Hashem yisborach merits me with a little understanding and knowledge, all my lifeI shall feel that it is only thanks to that occasion, to that day.A Single Movement

An adherent of one of the chassidishe groups once asked the Alters son, HaRav Nochum Zev to sum up his fathers greatness in a few words.Who was the Alter? Where did his greatness lie? he wanted to know.

In later years, HaRav Elya Lopian recalled what HaRav Nochum Zevs reply had been:

In his fear of Heaven, Father was like someone who has a knife stuck in his throat one careless movement can pierce him.In being maspid the Alter at his levaya, his friend and colleague HaRav Eliezer Gordon ztl, Rov and Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, said that aside fromthe Alters greatness in Torah, he had never heard a single word from him that was not related to Torah and to fear of Heaven.


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4 haaBtu!OoIubw! trcdk trcd ihc!This testimony was not based on a casual acquaintance. The Alter and Reb Leizer Telzer had learned together under HaRav Yisroel Salanterand they knew each other very well. During the period that Reb Leizer had served as rov of Kelm, he would visit the Alters home everyShabbos morning following tefillah. They would sit for several hours discussing divrei Torah.

Reb Leizer, who was known as a fiery and tempestuous genius, would repeat his chiddushim to the Alter, whose scholarship he valued highly,to agree to or to take issue with. At the Alters graveside, Reb Leizer said that his friend had been fluent in three sedorim of Shas, at a levelwhere he knew every single piece of Rashi and Tosafos word for word. He was also fluent in all four divisions of Shulchan Oruch and couldlocate any given halachah with pinpoint precision. Reb Leizers remarks were transmitted by HaRav Leib Chasman ztl who was present at thelevaya.

The Alter of Kelm scaled heights of greatness that few reach. HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein related that the Alter lost his sense of taste for aperiod of ten years. Reb Chatzkel explained that the love of pleasures, which the sense of taste is one of the principal means of indulging, isliable to hinder a tzaddiks progress in the spiritual realm because there, unlike with material acquisitions, no immediate pleasure isexperienced. Sometimes, he noted, HaKadosh Boruch Hu traces a path for righteous individuals, arranging special circumstances for them, inorder to facilitate their serving Him.

He Didnt Look the Same Anymore

The Alters love for his fellow creatures knew no bounds. HaRav Elya Lopian related that once, when the Alter saw some gentiles at a funeral,he sighed and commented, Until a moment before his death, he could have converted and become a Jew (from the notes of HaRav GedaliahEisemann).

In a similar vein, HaRav Chatzkel Levenstein related that when the Alter was once present at the funeral of a gentile, he said to his companions,Now though, he sees the truth.He felt the pain of a gentile. A lost opportunity of gaining a share in Olam Haba bothered him, even if the loss was a non-Jews.

Such is the trait of a pious man, explained Reb Chatzkel. Even though he himself is very far from sin, he still shares the burden of the[general] community, for he desires good.

Reb Chatzkel also pointed to another of the Alters outstanding traits his fear of sin. When the Alter once spied a Jew reaching into agentiles wagon in order to steal a little straw, he was terribly disturbed and he bore a dejected appearance for the rest of that day. His son-in-law, the tzaddik HaRav Tzvi Hirsch Broide, who was with him at the time, thought that he was simply feeling unwell.

That evening, when HaRav Tzvi Hirsch asked his father-in-law how he was feeling, he was astonished when the latter replied, How can onelive peacefully when one sees so much sin in the world?With such fear and loathing of sin, the Alter might be expected to have had little sympathy for sinners and no great concern for their fates. Yethis heart was even touched by the fates of gentiles. Their very failure to become Jewish and observe Torah distressed him.

He was merciful towards Jewish sinners and he evinced genuine love for them. HaRav Elya Lopian told the following story, which illustratesthe extent to which the Alter was distressed at the suffering of the wicked, even though they had brought it upon themselves:

Towards the end of his life, our master and teacher . . . HaRav Simcha Zissel of Kelm suffered from anemia and he always looked pale, withno color in his complexion at all. From the moment Shabbos began until it ended however, his face was aflame. His weekday paleness

disappeared and he looked ruddy and flushed, like a strong, healthy person. We all witnessed this whoever learned in Kelm everyShabbos.

Once, one of those close to him came to him on erev Shabbos kodesh with some good news: Weve just heard that the big apikores, theeditor of Hameilitz, has died. Blessed is Hashem who killed him! From another source, HaRav Simcha Zissel Bakst ztl, we learn that the bearer of these tidings was none other than the Alters son, Reb

Nochum Zev. The formers father, HaRav Aharon Bakst ztl, Hyd, who was the rov of Shavli and who was another of the Alters closedisciples, was also present at the time. The editor of Hameilitz, Alexander Cederbaum, put his publication at the disposal of the group ofmaskilim who, amongst other schemes, had been responsible for the closure of the Volozhin yeshiva. Cederbaum himself took part in thestruggles waged by the maskilim and he tried in every possible way to hinder the spreading influence of the mussar movement.

Reb Elyas story then describes the Alters reaction: When the Alter heard this, a look of melancholy appeared on his face and his face didntlook the same that Shabbos as it did every week. When asked about this he said, what are you so surprised about?! We ought to feel so sorry

for that rosho, who is now standing before the Throne of Judgment and pulling his hair out as he remembers how he spent his life toiling touproot religion. Impurity Cannot Bear Holiness

Reb Yeruchom testified that the Alter was well aware of what transpired in the world, though no newspaper entered his home. The Alter onceexpressed his disgust and loathing for the heretical publications of the maskilim, using the story of a gilgul which was then current among

Lithuanian Jewry, to make his point. It was said that the gilgul was drawn towards those who had read and been influenced by the heretical


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literature of the maskilim. On the other hand, it could not bear the proximity of a Heaven-fearing person. It said that it felt sickness and loathingwhen approached by such a person. Clearly, impurity yearns for the companionship of impurity and cannot bear the company of holiness.According to Reb Yeruchoms version of the story, the episode of the gilgul had taken place in the town of Novardok, about a generation

before the Alters birth. Reb Yeruchom related that, They tried everything but were unable to banish the spirit. When they mentioned that theywould take it to the Vilna Gaon, it couldnt bear hearing the Gaons name. Impurity cannot bear holiness.

The journals of the maskilim, the Alter said, were like that gilgul. Like it, they found holiness disagreeable and hated men of faith andcharacter. Their writers lauded and saluted every lowly and base impulse. If we see those papers praising someone whom we regard as a greatman, the Alter concluded, something must be afoot and he ought to be investigated. He may be putting on a righteous front, while his heart isfull of abominations.

Otherwise, why would the haters of religion be praising him?

No Movement without Reason

Wondrous stories circulated in Kelm about the amazing degree of control that the Alter had over his every limb and over each of his senses.Reb Yeruchom would extol this ability, describing how every movement that the Alter made was the result of forethought. Even themovements of his eyes were carefully controlled.

For example, the Alter never let his gaze wander sideways. When he needed to look at something that was to one side of him, he turned hiswhole body in that direction and looked at it straight on. Generally in Kelm, turning ones head to the side, unless it was for a very goodreason, was considered something to be ashamed of.

HaRav Nosson Wachtfogel ztl, who was mashgiach in Lakewood, related the following story:My teacher, HaRav Doniel Movshovitz who was one of the leaders of the Kelm Talmud Torah, never refrained from discussing any topicthat cropped up, even when there was a widely held preconceived view on the matter . . . Whatever the subject, Reb Doniel would examine andargue and would try to establish the truth. Yet, when the discussion turned to some aspect of the Alters conduct or outlook, he would annulhis own opinion and would stake his very soul in order to fathom the Alters thinking. He toiled in order to comprehend the Alter, whom heconsidered to be someone that it was imperative to understand.

When asked to explain his special approach to the Alters conduct, Reb Doniel said that his great admiration for him arose after he hadmonitored his movements and actions and had discovered that he never made even the slightest movement without first having thought aboutit. The Alter did nothing without forethought. He didnt open an eye or move his little finger without a reason or without preparation.Everything was calculated, befitting the level of an earlier generation.

So, Reb Doniel concluded, how can we imagine that we are capable of fathoming someone who didnt move his little finger withoutthinking about it first?

Among Reb Yeruchoms discourses, we find the following comments on this subject:

The Alter of Kelm explained the meaning of the terms, kalus rosh (irreverence) and koved rosh (decorum) as being simple translations. Kalusrosh, he said, is exactly that: having a light head. While koved rosh is also just that: having a heavy head. A person whose head is full ofwisdom doesnt turn it sideways and he doesnt laugh readily. When looking at a layabout however, one sees what hes like in a moment.From the way he moves its clear that he isnt weighed down with any kind of content. His head is quite simply light. At every rumor andevery slight noise, his head wags (Daas Torah, cheilek III, 117).

With Wissotsky in Moscow

Before the Alter opened the Talmud Torah in Kelm, he lived in Moscow for two years. This was a period of his life that is not so well known.He came to Moscow from Zagor, the birthplace of HaRav Yisroel Salanter, where he had perfected his mussar approach. Another of HaRavYisroels talmidim from the Neviezer beis hamedrash in Kovno had been living in Zagor. This was Reb Kalman Zeev Wissotsky zl, analumnus of the Volozhin yeshiva who later became famous as a tea magnate.

When Wissotsky moved to Moscow, Reb Simchah Zissel accompanied him. This was apparently upon HaRav Yisroels instructions, out ofhis concern for the untoward spiritual effect that the move might have on Wissotsky, on account of his immense wealth and his numerousconnections with government circles. Wissotsky achieved a great deal towards drawing cantonist soldiers back to the faith from which theyhad been torn as children. He himself stole into the barracks where they stayed and taught them prayers and halachos. He celebrated the Jewishfestivals with them and even conducted a Seder for them.

He spent enormous sums of money on communal endeavors and on Torah and mussar institutions. Rabbi Mazah, the government-appointedrabbi of Moscow, relates in his memoirs that Wissotsky once called him to his house to ask for his advice as to how he should distribute hismaaser

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money a sum of half a million rubles! When their conversation had ended, Rabbi Mazah relates, Wissotsky rose and, while pacing up anddown the room, put his hands to his head and cried in a tearful voice, Woe to us on the day of judgment! Woe to us on the day of reproof! Thisthen, was Wissotsk . It seems however, that there was concern amon the adherents of mussar that livin in Moscow mi ht have a detrimental


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influence upon Wissotsky and lead him astray. The Alter was dispatched to accompany him.

The Alter once remarked that the cleanliness of the streets of Moscow enabled him to reflect upon divrei Torah as he walked outside, which hewas prevented from doing when walking elsewhere. It is also said that he noted, thanks to the citys bustle, he could learn mussar in the streetswithout any disturbance.

The circumstances of the Alters departure from Moscow were typical of his unimpeachable integrity. The circles of the maskilim and theintelligentsia did everything in their power to attract Wissotsky to their ideas and projects. Apparently, one of them succeeded in gaining afoothold in one of Wissotskys businesses. With the clerks employment, Reb Simchah Zissel informed Wissotsky that he would be leavingMoscow. He explained that he was concerned about this mans influence and it is possible that he even hinted to Wissotsky that it was either

him or me. The clerk was engaged though, and the Alter left town.

The Alter: A Brief Biography

Despite the fact that there is scarcely a yeshiva bochur or seminary graduate who has not heard of the Alter of Kelm, relatively few know muchabout him, for example, what his family name was.Reb Simchah Zissel was born in 5584 (1824) in Kelm. His father, R Yisroel, belonged to the well-known Lithuanian Broide family. Hismother, Chaya, was descended from HaRav Tzvi Ashkenazi ztl, author of ShUT Chacham Tzvi.

Reb Simchah Zissel married Chaya Leah, daughter of R Mordechai of Vidzh, a small town adjacent to Kelm. Following his marriage hetravelled to Kovno, where he studied Torah and mussar under his foremost mentor, HaRav Yisroel Salanter ztl, in R Tzvi Neviezers beishamedrash. HaRav Yisroel later sent him to Zagor, to reinforce the beis hamussar that had been opened there. For a time, he delivered shiurim inthe town of Kretinga.

After he had spent almost a year in St. Petersburg, then the largest city in Czarist Russia, the communal leaders brought Reb Simchah Zissel asigned document of appointment as their rov. He was unwilling to accept a rabbinical position however, and he proposed his friend, with whomhe had learned together in Kovno, HaRav Yitzchok Blaser ztl, for the position.

When he was almost forty years old, Reb Simcha Zissel resolved upon opening his great endeavor, the Talmud Torah of Kelm. Haskalah wasgaining ground everywhere and there was a real danger of mass defection from religious life in Lithuania where, just fifty years earlier, the Gaonof Vilna and his immediate disciples had lived and worked.

The Talmud Torah opened in approximately 5622 (1862) and it attracted young students, thirteen and fourteen year olds. The Alter wanted toshape the personalities of his students and develop both their Torah knowledge and their progress in mussar so that they would be able to resistthe harsh spiritual winds that were then blowing.

Some ten years later, in 5632 (1872), he purchased a plot of land upon which he erected a building for the Talmud Torah. However, just a few

short years later, in 5636 (1876), trouble began when the institution was denounced to the authorities, who began to watch it closely and tohound it. The Alter decided to open elsewhere, in Grobin in the Kurland province. He arranged for the purchase of a fine building, situated in aspacious yard. There was a main study hall, smaller rooms for shiurim, a dining room and dormitories.

Five years later, the Alter had to return to Kelm. This time, the move was dictated by his failing health, which began to deteriorate in 5641(1881), and which necessitated his spending long periods in his home, which was in Kelm. Bochurim from the town and the surrounding areasgathered around him and the town once again became a mussar center.

From his home in Kelm, the Alter continued operating the Talmud Torah in Grobin, where he put his distinguished son, Reb Nochum Zev Zivztl, in charge. However, running the institution from a distance proved too difficult and Reb Simchah Zissel decided to close the yeshiva. Hesent a member of his family to consult HaRav Yisroel Salanter who was then in Germany.

HaRav Yisroel dismissed the idea out of hand and the Talmud Torah remained open in Grobin until 5646 (1886). In that year, the state of the

Alters health almost collapsed and his doctors warned him that there was real danger to his life if he continued making the supreme effort thatthe continued running of the institution in Grobin demanded. The Alter was instructed to rest a lot and to go for walks. At this point, he wasforced to close the Talmud Torah in Grobin.

With the closure of Grobin, the focus of his work shifted back to Kelm, which now reassumed its former prominence. The Alter established agroup that was known as Devek Tov, comprised of his foremost talmidim. He shared a special relationship with the groups members, and heworked

on writing out his discourses for them, which demanded more strength than he had.A number of his talmidim settled in Eretz Yisroel in 5652 (1892), opening the beis hamussar in Yerushalayim, under the Alters aegis and withhis support. Several years later, in 5657 (1897), the famous Yeshivas Or Chodosh was opened in Chotzer Strauss in the Old City. The yeshivawas headed by the rov of Yerushalayim, HaRav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld ztl. The Alter passed away on erev Tisha BAv 5758 (1898), shortlyafter having recited the morning Krias Shema. He was niftar while in the middle of Ezras avoseinu, bringing the first glorious chapter of thehistory of Kelm mussar to a close.

Why Was He Called The Alter?

The source of the title Der Alter, by which most people refer to Reb Simchah Zissel, is not generally known. One of the Talmud Torahs bestknown products, HaRav Chatzkel Levenstein, once explained the names significance.


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The Alter of Kelm didnt feel worthy of being considered a talmid of HaRav Yisroel Salanter, despite the fact that the latter was universallyregarded as having been his main rebbe. Reb Simcha Zissel was of the opinion that only someone who has acquired Torah from his rebbe can becounted as a talmid. Although he esteemed HaRav Yisroel highly, he felt that so long as he did not adopt his rebbes conduct as his own and tryto follow in his path in at least some small degree, he should not regard himself as his talmid. Out of respect, Reb Simchah Zissel would refer toHaRav Yisroel as Der Alter, meaning, the Elder.

Eventually, Reb Simchah Zissels own talmidim started referring to him by this name. Far from Kelm, the towns name was added.The Alter himself writes: Not everyone who listens to a great man can be called his talmid, as I heard about HaRav Chaim zl [of Volozhin,]who said that he could not be called a talmid of the Gaon zl. This is because a talmid is one who receives wisdom from him in the proportionthat a talmid receives from his teacher, as opposed to one who receives only a little. It is impossible to call the one the rebbe and the other histalmid, for there is a great gap between them.

Early lifeRabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv was born as Simcha Mordechai Ziskind Broida in 1824 in Kelme, Lithuania. His father, Reb Yisroel, belonged to thewell- known Lithuanian Braude family. His mother, Chaya, was a descendant of Rabbi Zvi Ashkenazi, the Chacham Tzvi. Chaya's family namewas Ziv, and her son took on his mother's family name when he moved to Grobin in 1880.Rabbi Ziv married Chaya Leah, the daughter of Reb Mordechai of Vidzh, a small town near Kelm. Following his marriage he travelled toKovno, where he studied under his foremost mentor, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, the founder of the Mussar movement, at the Nevyozer Kloiz.Among the other outstanding students were Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer, Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, Rabbi Yerucham Perlmanand Rabbi Jacob Joseph. Rabbi Ziv established himself as one of Rabbi Salanters closest disciples and Rabbi Ziv devoted his life to furtheringRabbi Salanters teachings.During this time, Rabbi Salanter sent Rabbi Ziv to Zhagory, to strengthen the Beis HaMussar (Mussar study house), which had been establishedthere. He also delivered lectures in the town of Kretinga.At the time, Kalman Zev Wissotzky (who later became famous as a tea magnate) was another of Rabbi Salanters students living in Zhagory.

Wissotzky had studied in the Volozhin Yeshiva and had become very wealthy and had many connections within government circles. He was agreat supporter and benefactor of many Jewish causes. When Wissotsky decided to move to Moscow, Rabbi Salanter instructed Rabbi Ziv toaccompany him, out of concern that the move to Moscow might have a negative effect on Wissotzkys spirituality. Rabbi Ziv then moved toMoscow, where he lived for two years.Following his time in Moscow, Rabbi Ziv moved to St. Petersburg, then the largest city in Czarist Russia. After spending almost a year there, thecommunal leaders brought Rabbi Ziv a signed document appointing him as their Rabbi. He was unwilling to accept the position, however, and

proposed that his friend from the yeshiva in Kovno Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer be appointed to the position.Kelm Talmud TorahSeeking to combat threats to traditional Judaism and to strengthen the cause of the Mussar movement, Rabbi Ziv decided to open a school inKelm, the Kelm Talmud Torah. At the time, Rabbi Ziv was almost forty years old.The Talmud Torah opened in approximately 1865 and attracted young students, mainly thirteen and fourteen-year-olds. Rabbi Zivs teacher Rabbi Yisrael Salanter had taught Rabbi Ziv the importance of Mussar and so the Talmud Torah aimed not only to enhance its students Torahknowledge but also to shape their personalities and develop their character traits using the Mussar approach. Indeed, much of daily study at theTalmud Torah focused on Mussar, while comparatively little time was devoted to the conventional study of Talmud.[1]

Rabbi Ziv also introduced general subjects such as geography, mathematics, and Russian into the Talmud Torah curriculum. These subjects werestudied for three hours a day, which was unprecedented in

6 haaBtu!OoIubw! trcdk trcd ihc!traditional Lithuanian yeshivas. Rabbi Ziv did not view general studies as a "necessary evil" but rather argued that such studies wouldencourage "better living" and "a better understanding of religious teachings as well."[2]

In 1872, Rabbi Ziv purchased a plot of land and erected a building for the Talmud Torah. A few short years later, however, in 1876, the

Talmud Torah was denounced to the authorities, who began to watch it closely and to hound it. Rabbi Ziv decided to open elsewhere, and re-established in Grobin, in the Kurland province. He arranged for the purchase of a fine building, situated in a spacious yard. There was a mainstudy hall, smaller rooms for classes, a dining room and dormitories. The school in Grobin opened in 1880.

Rabbi Ziv, suffered from failing health which necessitated his spending long periods in his home, which was in Kelm. In 1881, he returned toKelm, leaving his son, Rabbi Nochum Zev Ziv to run the Talmud Torah in Grobin. Young men from Kelm and the surrounding areas flockedto study under Rabbi Ziv and the town once again became a center of Mussar. From his home in Kelm, Rabbi Ziv continued to play a role inthe running of the Talmud Torah in Grobin. This, however, began to be too difficult and Rabbi Ziv decided to close the yeshiva. He sent amember of his family to consult his teacher, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter who was living in Germany at the time.

Rabbi Salanter disagreed with the idea and the Talmud Torah remained open in Grobin until 1886. In that year, Rabbi Zivs health took a turnfor the worse and his doctors warned him that there was real danger to his life if he continued making the effort that the running of the yeshivain Grobin required. At this point, Rabbi Ziv was forced to close the Talmud Torah in Grobin.

With the closure of the Grobin Talmud Torah, the focus of his work shifted back to Kelm, which now regained its former prominence. RabbiZiv established a group that was known as "Devek Tov," comprising his foremost students. He shared a special relationship with the group'smembers and he worked on writing out his discourses for them, which, unfortunately, required more strength than he had.

A number of his students settled in Palestine in 1892, opening the "Beis HaMussar" in Jerusalem, under Rabbi Zivs auspices and with hissupport. Rabbi Ziv died on Wednesday 26 July 1898 the eve of Tisha B'Av, shortly after having recited the morning Shema. He died while


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in the middle of the paragraph Ezras avoseinu.

Personality

Rabbi Ziv was known for his humility, loving-kindness, thoughtfulness, and focus on order.At Rabbi Zivs funeral, his friend and colleague Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, the Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, said that aside from Rabbi Zivsgreatness in Torah, he had never heard a single word from him that was not related to Torah and to fear of Heaven.

Rabbi Ziv was not only great in Mussar but also in his knowledge of Torah and Talmud. Rabbi Gordon, who was known as a fiery andtempestuous genius, would repeat his Talmudic thoughts to Rabbi Ziv and seek his opinion on them, for he valued Rabbi Zivs scholarship

highly. Rabbi Gordon said that his friend had been fluent in three orders of the Talmud, to such a level where he knew every comment ofRashi and Tosafos word for word. He was also fluent in all four divisions of the Shulchan Aruch and could locate any given Halacha within itwith pinpoint precision. Mussar Approach

Rabbi Ziv taught that the whole world is a classroom where one can learn to improve ones character and increase ones belief in God. RabbiZiv would frequently quote Socrates[3], who said that "true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

Rabbi Ziv offered his students the following advice: "Take time. Be exact. Unclutter the mind." The school (Talmud Torah) that he operated inGrobin was an epitome of this approach. The students conducted themselves with calmness and order but were still motivated and enthusiastic.There are numerous anecdotes that illustrated the extent that this reached, among them are;

A man once left a cane hanging on a hook in the school by mistake, he came back many years later and the cane had not been moved.Rabbi Ziv once came into the school and saw that in the row of galoshes that had been lined up outside the study hall, one of the pair ofgaloshes was not in line with the others. Reb Ziv dedicated an entire ethical sermon to the need for order in light of this event.

The windows that faced the street in the study hall were never opened in order to prevent distractions. A noise was once heard outside thestudy hall. One of the students opened the window and looked out to see what was happening. Reb Ziv commented that he did not see thatthere was any possibility that that student would become an accomplished person.

Rabbi Ziv explained that a person can only progress in life and perceive God by clearing his mind of confusion and haphazard thinking. Oncea person has done this, they will be able to achieve a level of equanimity and clarity of mind that will allow them to plan a path through life thatis independent of the fallacies that are the subconscious product of personal weakness and temptations. They will also be able to recognize thesubtleties (subtleness) of God's manifestation in the world.

Rabbi Ziv would study for twelve solid, successive hours each day no matter the time of year. He explained that only through clarity and clearmindedness can a person overcome their will to act impulsively and achieve focus.

Rabbi Dov Katz described Rabbi Zivs approach to learning as consisting of three guiding principles:One should become emotionally involved in his studies, whether joyful or sad.

One should ask oneself after everything one learns, "What did I think before, and what do I know differently now?"One's study should always delve beyond the external facets and arrive at the essence of the topic.

He encouraged practices that would encourage visualization and introspection.StudentsHis students included many of the Mussar greats of the next generation: Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel of Slabodka, Rabbi Aharon Bakst, RabbiReuven Dov Dessler (whose son Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler authored the classic Michtav M'Eliyahu), Rabbi Nachum Ze'ev Ziv, and Rabbi ZviHirsch Braude.

There were many other great Rabbis who only spent a short period in Kelm, yet were greatly influenced by Rabbi Ziv. Among these are Rabbi

Yosef Leib Bloch, the Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz the Mashgiach of Mir, and Rabbi Yosef Yoizel Horowitzof Novhardok.

Zecher Tzadik VKadosh Livracha Zchuso Yagein Aleinu Val Kul YisraelHave a wonderful ShabbosPrepared by Rabbi Binyomin Adler.

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