Yahrtzeit Yomi #952!!
ט אדר
Rav Zalman Volozhiner
רב שלמה זלמן ב״ר יצחק
(1756 - 1788)
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Today (Sunday, 9 Adar) marks the 236th Yahrtzeit of Rav Shlomo Zalman Volozhiner ZTL, fondly referred to as “Reb Zelmeleh”.

Reb Zelmeleh (henceforth: Reb Zalman) was the younger brother of the renowned Rav Chaim Volozhiner, and was considered to be the foremost Talmid of the Vilna Gaon, and for good reason:

From the time he was a very young child, Reb Zalman’s unparalleled greatness in Torah scholarship was simply unfathomable. His mind was like a computer from which he could extract abstruse information at a moment’s notice. There are dozens of stories that illustrate Rav Zalman’s complete mastery over the vast sea of the Torah, as well as his ability to demonstrate, even in the midst of a seemingly mundane conversation, through the use of just the right phrase or dictum, that there is no wisdom or body of knowledge that is not in some way at least alluded to (if not openly addressed) in our holy Torah; the immutable principle of הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ
- “delve into the Torah thoroughly, and you’ll find that everything is contained therein”.
The full extent of Reb Zalman’s incredible fluency in the entire Torah was described by no less a personage than his own older brother Rav Chaim, a towering Torah giant in his own right. Rav Chaim explained that Reb Zalman was as familiar with the voluminous gamut of the entire Torah literature, as we are with the thrice-daily-recited ״אשרי״ prayer!
What’s particularly inspiring about Reb Zalman was that his peerless encyclopedic knowledge was primarily utilized to ensure that everything he did was in meticulous accordance with the dictates of Halacha and Chazal; common custom notwithstanding. In situations where others were quick to dismiss a particular Halacha or Mitzvah with the claim of “well, nowadays this does not apply”, Reb Zalman would practice uncompromising loyalty to the Torah’s mandates.
Despite his phenomenal memory and vast knowledge, Rav Zalman never ceased reviewing Torah.
Someone once witnessed Reb Zalman striding back-and-forth, reviewing a particular topic with tremendous enthusiasm. “How many times have you reviewed this topic?” he asked Reb Zalman.
“About two hundred and fifty times,” was the reply.
(Ohhhh boy. Here we go. I know exactly where this is heading. It’s the age-old raging “Artscroll Biographies vs. Making of a Gadol” debate. I can already hear/read all the feedback....:)
“Shkoiyach, Ezi (said facetiously). You have now told us that there was a born genius, who was also an unmatched masmid. How does that relate to us??! You’re just making greatness seem unattainable!!”
“Ezi, your Yahrtzeit article this week was pointless. Your article, together with all those whitewashed Artscroll biographies......”
“Ezi, with all (actually, zero) due respect, your article was not only uninspiring and discouraging, but it is also a tremendous distortion. Instead of presenting our Gedolim as flawless angelic beings, maybe tell us about their human struggles and challenges which they undoubtedly encountered??! After all is said and done, they were human beings. We need human role models to emulate, not the flawless cherubim which you present them to be.”
Ok, fine. So allow me to present to you the type of struggle which Reb Zalman faced regularly:
[Remainder on WhatsApp group]
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