By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetsky
This article originally appeared in Yated Neeman, Monsey NY. and is reprinted here with their permission
Rav Ahron HaLevi Soloveichik, a scion of the great Soloveitchik family, son of Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, and grandson of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, the famed Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin and Rav of Brisk was niftar on Friday 18 Tishrei, the second day of Chol HaMoed Sukkos.
Immersed in limud Torah and harbatzas Torah, Rav Ahron, with his genius and unique outlook on life inspired thousands who basked in the presence of his unwavering and uncompromising ideals.
Complementing his great genius was his simple humility and kindness and his indomitable spirit that went with him from shiur to shiur whether delivering shiurim from a wheelchair or flying his crippled body across the continent to give shiurim in New York.
Rav Ahron was born in Khaslavichy, a city in western Russia in 1917 to his father, Rav Moshe Soloveitchik and his mother Rebbitzen Pesia Feinstein, daughter of Reb Elya Feinstein. After the petirah of Rav Alexander Moshe Lapidus, Rav Moshe was appointed the Rav of Rasein, a small city near Kovno. Rav Moshe later moved to Khaslavichy in White Russia, a town with a majority of Lubavitcher Chasidim. Reb Ahron would tell the story of how it came to be that a Misnagdisher Rav led the Chassidisher town.
During the French-Russian War, Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Ba’al HaTanya, supported the evil Czarist regime over that of Napoleon. He felt that the threat of physical suffering under the Czarist regime would be better than the risk of assimilation under the liberal freedoms and enlightenment of Napoleonic rule.
The Ba’al HaTanya’s support of the Russians became known to the French leadership and it infuriated them. They issued a death warrant against Rav Shneur Zalman. In his attempts to escape the French pursuers, Rav Shneur Zalman hid in the home of the Rov, Rav Yisrael Ashkenazi, mechaber of the Pe’as Hashulchan and a fierce Misnaged.
When the authorities came to his door looking for the Rebbe, Rav Yisrael told them, how he, as an opponent of Chassidim, would be glad to hand over any chasid who were to hide in his home. Surely no chasid could hide in his home, let alone a Rebbe! The authorities did not even enter his home.
After he was saved, the Ba’al haTanya gave a bracha, that every Rav in the town of Khaslavichy should forever be a Misnaged!
When the communists invaded Khaslavichy in 1919, the Soloveitchiks escaped to Poland where Rav Moshe assumed a Rosh Yeshiva position in Warsaw. As a young man Rav Ahron gained from such Torah giants as the Chofetz Chaim and the Imrei Emmes.
When the Soloveitchik’s moved to New York in 1928 with Rav Moshe assuming the position of Rosh Yeshiva in Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchonon, young Reb Ahron continued learning under the tutelage of his father who gave him semicha. He was taught English by Rav Avigdor Miller, who later would serve as the Mashgiach at Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin.
Worried about parnassah, he also received a degree in law. But his immersion in Torah assured that he would remain as a mechanech and mashpia for the rest of his life.
In the early 1950s he became a magid shiur in Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin under the leadership of Rav Yitzchak Hutner, who knew Rav Ahron as a young boy in Europe.
He was to give shiur three times a week, each shiur lasting three hours. The bochurim were mesmerized by the clarity of thought and the brilliance of his delivery. His chidushim sparked their interest in Torah and many of them grew to eventually become great Magidei Shiur on their own. Sometimes he would treat the boys to a special treat-an unpublished shiur from his illustrious grandfather Rav Chaim Soloveitchik.
Since the passing of his father in 1941, Reb Ahron lived in Washington Heights to aid his mother. Thus he had to travel by train to the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, to give shiur in the Yeshiva. It was not rare, that Rav Ahron would be on the train caught deep in though and did not realize that the train had reached the end of the line and began it’s return to Washington Heights.
It was this total immersion in Torah, that had legends of Rav Ahron, walking into lampposts while thinking in learning and then apologizing to them, or coming into shiur still wearing the crumpled Yarmulka he wore when he rested at night.
The Mashgiach of the yeshiva at the time was Rav Avigdor Miller, whose insistence on punctuality was balanced by the reverence he had for the brilliant magid Shiur. But in trying to keep the seder in yeshiva, he did all he could to make sure that Rav Ahron would keep to the sedorim.
Sometimes the Mashgiach, would send a bochur to assure that Reb Ahron would arrive at the right stop on time, at ten minutes to ten o’clock, for shiur. One bochur related that he asked Rav Ahron a strong question on the Rashba at the beginning of the forty-five minute trip from Washington Heights.
Rav Ahron was deep in thought, when the train pulled into the closest station to the Yeshiva. The young man told the rebbe that they arrived at the stop, almost shaking him from a Torah induced spiritual trance. Rav Ahron looked up in amazement. “Ober the Rashba blaibt nach shver, (but the Rashba still remains unanswered)” he exclaimed.
He was tremendously compassionate, always giving money to panhandlers and street-vendors. There was a poor man who sold inferior quality ties near the Yeshiva. Rav Ahron would often stop to buy a tie from him, though he surely did not need one!
His feelings for another human being, and especially a fellow Jew were filled with unbridled emotions. In his later years, after he was an established Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Ahron visited a kiruv camp for teens who were becoming observant of Torah. He spoke for hours to the teenagers, several of whom spoke of their personal problems practicing Yiddishkeit in not fully observant homes. After the last teenager left the room the Rosh Yeshiva began to cry. When asked what was wrong he said “their courage, their strength-I don’t know if I could be as brave as they are.”
For many years he served as Rav of the famous Morya Shul on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. People still speak of Rav Ahron with awe and reverence about his humility, goodness, and devotion to the shul and its members.
In 1966, he came to Chicago as Rosh Yeshiva of Bais Medrash LaTorah, Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, a post he held until 1974. He eventually left that institution and started Yeshivas Brisk of Chicago.
Rav Ahron had opinions on every aspect of life, be it American policy, or social obligations to scientific research. All his opinions were formulated through his interpretation of halacha and he would justify beliefs with his view of divrei chazal and his broad vision of halacha. Filled with proofs and logical deductions based on Gemara and halacha on all aspects of life, many of them way out of the realm of the typical Yeshiva discussion, Rav Ahron voiced his opinions on democracy and wars; prosperity in the Western Hemisphere and starvation in Africa, as well as the Vietnam War. He often became involved with the politics in Israel, conferring with political leaders, of both secular and religious parties. He openly opposed the Oslo accords yet railed against those whose views caused physical incitement against the secular leaders of the State.
Despite his enthusiasm for all intellectual and moral challenges, nothing could move him more passionately than a sevarah in a Gemarah.
Despite his ability to speak philosophically and expostulate on theory, Rav Ahron was the quintessential machmir in halacha. He fought what he felt were lapses or leniencies, and his stringencies were unbendable. His kpaida on the issur chadash in chutz l’aretz was well known.
In addition to numerous seforim and chovros in Loshon Kodesh, Reb Ahron wrote books in English, Logic of the Heart, Logic of the Mind and The Warmth and the Light.
In Chicago, he conferred often with the Roshei Yeshiva of Telshe Chicago and the Roshei Kollel of the various kollelim in the community and he was active in the Chicago Merkaz Harabbanim.
In 1983, a debilitating stroke left Rav Ahron partially paralyzed. His body racked with pain, his mind was still sharp and he continued his shiurim, despite tremendous physical difficulties. After the passing of his brother Rav Yoseph Ber he would travel each week to Yeshiva Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan to give shiurim in his late brother’s stead.
Reb Ahron married Ella Shurin, the daughter of Rav Moshe Shurin, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ritava, Lithuania, and a Rav in various communities in the United States. A descendant of Gedolei Hador, Rebbitzin Ella’s mother was the daughter of Rus Shurin, herself a daughter Rav Moshe Ahron Davidovitz, and a grandaughter of Rav Avrohom Avli, the Ahavas Eisan on Mishnayos.
The two of them had such a wonderful relationship, that when the Rebbitzin was nifter just two months ago, Rav Ahron told other family members that he felt as if half his soul had left him. They gave so much respect and honor to each other, that Rav Moshe Francis of the Chicago Community Kollel would always point to them as role models of what a husband and wife relationship should be.
Rav Soloveitchik is survived by six children, His sons, Rav Moshe and Rav Eliyahu are Roshei Yeshiva in his yeshiva in Chicago and Rav Yoseph and Rav Chaim are Marbitzei Torah in Eretz Yisrael. His daughters, Rochel is married to Rav Marcus of Toronto and his daughter Tova is married to Rav Siegel of Newton, Massachusetts.
His Levaya was held in the Yeshivas Brisk of Chicago, and later in Newark Airport on the way to his menuchas olomim on Har Hazaisim in Yerushalayim.
T.N.Z.B.H.