Memories tend to fade as time goes on. Chazal tell us that the remembrance of one who has passed away diminishes after 12 months. Even great people who become legends fade into historical personalities of yesteryear, and memories of them are only as strong as their tangible contributions, such as writings and institutions. There are a rare few whose remembrance becomes stronger with the passage of time, whose legend becomes larger than life.
HaRav Zvi Dov Slanger, zt”l, whose first yahrzeit will be on the 21st of Shvat, is in this latter category. He left behind a magnificent Yeshiva that he custom-tailored to his unique vision. Yet there is an additional aspect of his legacy that will only be felt in the years to come. HaRav Slanger was a one-of-a-kind mechanech (educator), a master at cultivating bona fide bnei Torah, and his pupils will be among the greatest of tomorrow.
HaRav Slanger had a way of guiding each talmid (student) in an exacting yet gentle manner. Upon noticing that a talmid of superior intelligence was losing interest in his studies, he considered the challenge. How could he engage and build up this talmid while maintaining the focus of the other 20-some boys in his shiur (class)? He decided to ask this talmid to grade the bechinos (exams)!
Another time, he noticed a bachur who wasn’t conforming to the Yeshiva’s requirements. HaRav Slanger came to the conclusion that since this bachur was starting off his day on the wrong foot – by coming late to Shacharis – the rest of his day somehow was not set right. HaRav Slanger called over the talmid and asked him if he could take attendance for Shacharis, to which the bachur replied, “But Rebbi, I don’t come on time.” HaRav Slanger told him, “I know I can trust you, and it’s important. I’m sure you will come on time.”
Two years after the Yeshiva’s inception, HaRav Slanger rented an apartment in a nearby complex to serve as the new mini-dorm. One day, we found a couch on a curbside that was in quite decent condition and brought it into the dorm. The next evening, while visiting the dormitory to make sure all was in order, HaRav Slanger spotted the couch and became visibly upset. He explained that for many years he never had a couch in his own home until he needed one for guests. He told us that a ben Torah should be sitting on a chair to learn. Should he be too tired to do so, he should go to sleep! He then requested that we remove the couch, and none of us could argue because we knew he honestly believed in what he said. He sat on a wooden chair in the beis medrash while the rest of us sat on upholstered chairs. The Rosh HaYeshiva practiced what he preached in all areas. He had his tallis and tefillin on and was in the beis medrash a half-hour before Shacharis, learning mussar. He learned halacha seder, a full first seder, and a full night seder. He always davened with kavanah. His focus and intensity during the entire davening was a source of great inspiration. He never rushed out of a tefilla and was always there before it began.
The Rosh HaYeshiva’s honesty and integrity were astounding. The Yeshiva started out in a local shul. A well-meaning staff member prepared a gorgeous brochure for fundraising purposes and photo-shopped a sign onto the front of the building: “Beis Hamedrash and Mesivta.” When HaRav Slanger saw this, he instructed this staff member to dispose of all the printed brochures and make new ones, without the Yeshiva’s name on the building. He explained that it would be dishonest to present the Yeshiva as though it already had its own building.
HaRav Slanger would on occasion be strict, but his decisions were made with absolute fairness. When he wanted to know what had transpired in any particular situation, he made sure to know the exact and full story before acting. He would inquire and take notes until he felt he had a full picture. HaRav Slanger said that the Chazon Ish once told him that expelling a bachur from the Yeshiva is dinei nefashos and therefore requires a beis din of 23 judges. Therefore, if he felt it necessary to remove a bachur from the Yeshiva, he would first find him another suitable yeshiva and then wait until bein hazmanin to make the move, thus preserving the bachur’s dignity and seeing to it that he had the opportunity to continue his growth.
The Rosh HaYeshiva guided us with a firm hand yet with a warm touch. When a bachur came late to Shacharis (even five minutes), he would collect a kenas (fine). If a bachur accumulated a number of fines, the Rosh HaYeshiva would sit with the bachur to discuss how he could earn back his money. This would usually entail coming early to Shacharis for several days. On one occasion, when this system failed to correct a particular talmid’s pattern of coming late to Shacharis, HaRav Slanger approached him in the corridor of the Yeshiva and told him that he had a hole in his pocket. He continued: “I watched you walking down the hall, and I noticed you have a hole in your pocket, and everything is falling out from it.” The bachur turned to see what had fallen out but hadn’t noticed anything on the floor behind him that could have fallen out. The bachur looked at the Rosh HaYeshiva and said: “Rebbi, I don’t know what the Rosh HaYeshiva is referring to,” HaRav Slanger explained to him that not davening Shacharis properly is comparable to having a hole in one’s pocket: Even though he is learning well, everything is falling out because he doesn’t daven Shacharis properly.
The Rosh HaYeshiva truly cherished his mentors, the Gedolim of yore, and held them in the highest esteem. He viewed them as super-human celestial beings. At the same time,
he encouraged us to reach the heights of those of generations past. To this end, he convinced us to finish the Yeshiva’s mesechta and to learn all sorts of other topics. As a result, this became the unofficial standard in Yeshiva: Even the average bachur would make a siyum on the Yeshiva’s mesechta. Halacha and mussar sedarim were as vibrant as first seder.
Our Rebbi had pure ahavas haTorah. Learning with the Rosh HaYeshiva was learning with a living Gemara. HaRav Slanger had great clarity in every sugya the Yeshiva was learning. He knew the sugyos with everything that was printed in the Gemara: with the Maharsha, Rosh, Reshash, etc. There wasn’t a Rebbi Akiva Eiger that the Rosh HaYeshiva wasn’t familiar with; Pnei Yehoshua was part of pshat. He would always say, “Knowing what you don’t understand is also knowing.” The main thing was to have clarity, even if it meant remaining with questions. The Rosh HaYeshiva would always remind us that Rebbi Akiva Eiger moved on after every unresolved question he raised.
HaRav Slanger taught by example. The manner in which American bachurim devour food bothered the Rosh Yeshiva. He wouldn’t allow food to be served from a window and explained that bnei Torah should not wait in line for food. The Rosh HaYeshiva was determined to change the way his talmidim ate. It was to this end that he dined together with us in the Yeshiva’s dining room.
The Rosh HaYeshiva was the embodiment of kvod ha’adam. When one looked at the Rosh HaYeshiva, he beheld the essence of Man’s glory. The Rosh HaYeshiva’s appearance was always neat, his conduct was always proper in every way, and his presence demanded respect. There was something extraordinary about the Rosh HaYeshiva because, despite his commanding aura, he was the essence of humility. How many times did we see the Rosh HaYeshiva bend down in the beis medrash to pick up a used tissue from the floor or a piece of food that fell in the dining room? How pure was the Rosh HaYeshiva’s love when he bentched (blessed) each and every talmid on Erev Yom Kippur?
“Ki sifsei kohen yishmeru da’as vetora yevakshu mipihu ki malach H-Shem Tzevakos hu – For a priest’s lips shall guard knowledge, and teaching should be sought from his mouth, for he is a malach of the Lord of Hosts” (Malachi 2) Chazal explain that one should learn Torah from a Rebbi who is similar to a malach (angel). The pasuk doesn’t say to learn Torah from a Rebbi who is similar to a malach; the pasuk says to learn Torah from a malach. Why then do Chazal suffice with a Rebbi who is merely comparable to a malach? It would seem that Chazal understood that, while the pasuk says to seek a Rebbi who is a malach, one cannot expect a Rebbi to actually be as perfect as a malach.
The Rosh HaYeshiva was a perfect blend of humility and dignity. His smile was as genuine and as wholesome as possible. We were zocheh to learn from the Rav hadomeh lemalach, a flesh and blood Rebbe, a human malach.
HaRav Slanger’s legacy will, be”H, continue to live on through the talmidim he nurtured and guided toward becoming talmidei chachamim. Inspired by our Rebbe, we strive to perpetuate his legacy. Under the leadership of his son-in-law, Harav Chaim Cohen, shlita, Rosh Hayeshiva, and the devoted Rabbeim, the Yeshiva continues to blossom. May we all merit to take part in the glorious legacy HaRav Slanger, zt’l, bequeathed to us.
Yissachar Dov Krakowski studied in the first class of Beis Hamedrash and Mesivta of Baltimore. He currently heads the OU Kashrus department in Israel and is a Rebbe in Yeshivas Heichal HaTorah in Yerushalayim.
