The Jewish Press joins Klal Yisrael in mourning the petirah of the great gaon, the pre-eminent HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, who was widely referred to as a Sar Ha’Torah – a paragon of the Talmudic model of the Jew as someone single-mindedly immersed in Torah study and teaching.
The son of the renowned Steipler Gaon, zt”l, the nephew of the pre-eminent Chazon Ish, and the son-in-law of the illustrious HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, Rav Chaim was noted for his annual completion of the entire Torah including Tanach, Mishnah, Babylonian and Yerushalmi Talmudim, the commentaries and the definitive halachic works. Possessed with extraordinary genius and powers of analysis as well as a photographic memory, he was a wellspring of the Torah’s teachings both in its broad scope and in its granular parts.
Rav Kanievsky wrote authoritative works on many vital topics of Torah law including several that had theretofore escaped attention, such as the laws of the Beis HaMikdash and its prescribed offerings. He also shared his special understandings of the indispensible Mishnah Berurah.
Despite his rigorous study schedule, he also somehow found time to accommodate steady streams of visiting Jews, some desperately seeking his advice and blessings.
For countless Jews he was the final word on Jewish law and policy and so fostered an uncommon sense of unity and community. His passing leaves Klal Yisrael with a great void.
