The Maharam [Rabbi Moshe] Schick (1807-1877) as a child and young boy was known not to be very bright. Even when he came to learn in the Yeshiva of Chassam Sofer it was said that whatever he learned one day, he forgot by the next day.
But the Maharam Schik was an extraordinary Masmid and very diligent, he chazered (reviewed) and chazered over and over until Hashem opened his mind and heart and he became one of the leading Gedolim of his generation. So much so, that he remembered his learning by heart.
When testing his students, he would open a Gemarah, put his finger on the right place but wouldn’t even look inside. Once in his old age when his eyesight was bad, one of his students wanted to check out his Rebbi and when he wasn’t looking, he managed to flip over the page. The Maharam Schik hadn’t noticed and he continued looking at his students, with his finger pointing to the right place on the wrong page.
The Maharam Schik used to say, “one doesn’t become a Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) from learning. Becoming a Talmid Chacham is only from Chazarah (review) over and over again.
Once the Kesav Sofer (Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyomin Sofer, 1815-1871) and the Maharam Schik were in the same town for health reasons. The Kesav Sofer was busy studying a topic and needed a Tur with the commentary of the Beis Yosef. He asked his attendant to go to the Maharam Schik and ask if he could borrow the Tur.
The Maharam Schik replied that he can’t lend him the Sefer, but if he asks his Rebbi, the Kesav Sofer which Siman (chapter) he needs, he is happy to write it down for him. The student returned back shortly after with the correct Siman and the Maharam Schik wrote him the whole thing.
The Kesav Sofer
A few days later, the Kesav Sofer came to visit the Maharam Schik and asked him to see the Tur inside. It was then that the Kesav Sofer found out that the Maharam Schik hadn’t copied it from a volume because he didn’t have the Sefer with him, he had written it completely from memory.
Reb Asher Lemmel Schwarz was a student of the Maharam Schik and used to write his Rebbi’s Chiddushei Torah. Once on a journey with his Rebbi, Reb Asher Lemmel was busy writing his Rebbi’s Divrei Torah. As they were traveling the wagon got stuck and turned over. No one was hurt besides Reb Asher Lemmel who injured his hand and had severe pains. So much so, that he couldn’t continue writing his Rebbi’s Chiddushim.
A Comment Made Out of Intense Pain
Out of such intense pain the young Asher Lemmel made a comment and said, “maybe the Rebbi’s words need to be checked out.” ( He made this comment out of pain and bitterness that only he was injured on his hand that was busy writing the words of his Rebbi’s Torah)
The Maharam Schik looked at him bewildered and said, “When you come up to Heaven, I will come and take you to my Yeshiva in Heaven and you will see and be proven that I learned Torah Lishmah – Torah only for Hashem’s sake without any exterior motives.”
Many years later Reb Asher Lemmel told this story to his son in law and asked that the story should be repeated at his Levaya as he hopes that his Rebbi will fulfil his words and come to take him into his Yeshiva.
In his final illness the Maharam Schick’s body was blown up from head to toe and he suffered intense pain. He turned to his students and said, “I am begging Hashem to be able to stay alive, even if I will remain bedridden like now and unable to do anything, I am willing to lie like this and be able to say once a day just the first Passuk of Shema Yisrael till Echad!”
Reprinted from the Parshas Shemos 5784 email of Inspired by a Story by Rabbi
