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What Does a True Leader Look Like?

© Baruch Weiner

Rabbi Shach of Blessed Memory. This is not an easy piece to write. Really it is an essay that cannot even be called a humble starting point. The 16th of the Hebrew month of Kislev 5762 (December 1, 2001) was the 30th day from the passing of the leader of the religious yeshiva world- Rabbi Eliezer Menachem Man Shach, of blessed memory. I have no doubts that we will see many volumes on his life being written. The religious newspaper last Friday had a 95 page supplement. My son just brought home today from the library a book full of pictures and news papper clippings on Rav Shach.

He wrote a classic work called Avi Ezry on the Yad Chazakah of the Rambam (Maimonides). It earned its place as a classic in Talmudic study literature. We have so far six volumes of his letters and speeches covering vast areas on Jewish thought and principles. A small collection of it was translated into English in a book called “A Beacon of Light.” He was the head of the Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and more importantly he bore the whole of the Jewish nation on his shoulders.

A Short Preface. There were about 400,000 people at his funeral, which itself shows the effect his passing has had on the Jewish nation. He passed away at the age of somewhere between 104-108. He was active in his leadership up until only a few years ago. The religious political party “Degel” was his idea and was led according to his instructions, although he was not a politician. He said about himself that he never read a secular book in his life. He was a man whose whole life was dedicated to G-d and serving his people with every bit of his personality and self. Every aspect of Jewish life in the Yeshiva world was under his personal scrutiny to assure that it remains pure.

As I prefaced in these few lines we will not even get a glimpse of this great legendary figure. But we can glance through a telescope and see the light of a distance star.

The Early Years. His personal life was one that contained basically much suffering. At five years of age he walked out of his house on Yom Kippur to go to the synagogue. A passing group of Cossaks grabbed him and were on the way of permanently taking him A couple of girls in their homes saw and screamed. The Cossaks

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