By Avrohom Birnbaum
Rav Aharon Lewin, Hy‑d
Rav Aharon Lewin rabbi of Rzeszow / Reisha, Poland and a member of the Polish Sejm / parliament was born on 14 Elul, 5640 (1879) in the Galician city of Pshemishel. His parents, Rav Nosson and Rebbetzin Hadassah Lewin, were the son-in-law and daughter of the Rov of Pshemishel and then Lemberg, Rav Yitzchok Shmelkes, author of the famed Sheilos U’Teshuvos Bais Yitzchok.
As a young boy, Aharon spent much time with his grandfather, Rav Yitzchok Shmelkes. The Bais Yitzchok invested his heart and soul into the chinuch of his grandson and even from a very young age, it was evident that young Aharon possessed tremendous intellect and insight. Both his father and grandfather taught him Torah and by the time he became a bar mitzvah, it was clear that a new star was beginning to shine on the horizon of Poland’s rabbinical world.
In the Machzikei Hadaas newspaper published in Poland in the month of Cheshvan, 5653 (1892), there is a paraphrased report about the remarkable bar mitzvah of the young bochur, Aharon Lewin:
‘‘Last week, the bar mitzvah of the wonderful, brilliant and erudite bochur, Aharon Lewin, grandson of the great Rov, Rav Yitzchok Shmelkes, was held. On Shabbos, the bar mitzvah bochur gave a beautiful drasha in the city’s main shul. The drasha was a masterful presentation of pilpul and sevorah — the boy posed a clear delivery and his words of aggadah were listened to raptly by the entire shul which was packed from one end to the other.
‘‘All of the distinguished members of the community came to hear the young boy’s drasha. They all seemed amazed over the fact that such a young bochur spoke with such confidence before such a large crowd. After the drasha, the entire community converged to wish him mazal tov and express their deep feelings that he continue to benefit Jewry with his special gifts of Torah and chochma.’’
Indeed, it seemed as if the heartfelt brachos of so many Jews were fulfilled in the boy because after his bar mitzvah over the course of a few years, the young bochur began to develop and mature into a true gaon. He was soon considered among the most erudite talmidim of his illustrious grandfather.
In the third volume of the sefer Bais Yitzchok (published in 1894), we find chiddushim in the name of the young 15 year old Aharon Lewin. He also completed the Maftechos – indexes for the sefer. The last two volumes of Bais Yitzchok contain many chiddushim from Rav Aharon, all written when he was a bochur.
When he was in his late teens, Rav Aharon Lewin was already assisting his grandfather in many areas of the rabbinate of the city of Lemberg (Lvov) where Rav Yitzchok had since moved to from Pshemishel. Lemberg (Lvov) was the capital of Galicia and all of the most difficult halachic and communal matters arrived at the door of Rav Yitzchok who was one of the gedolei hador.
Discussions Between Grandfather and Grandson
He would discuss most of these matters with his young grandson and through these conversations, Rav Aharon absorbed the appropriate rabbinical approach to a whole host of halachic and communal matters. Even as a bochur, his talent as a public speaker was public knowledge. Once, when he was 19 years old, he gave a drasha at the ‘‘Koveia Ittim L’Torah’’ Shul. His drasha was so powerful and made such a profound impact on his listeners that they begged him to publish it so that others could also benefit from it.
Thus the sefer ‘‘Dovor B ‘Ito’’ was printed in 1899, containing that seminal drasha. Once, when both he and his grandfather, the Bais Yitzchok delivered drashos one after the other in the main shul in Lvov, the Bais Yitzchok asked one of the prominent members of his kehillah for his opinion of his grandson’s speech. The man replied, ‘‘I will respond with the words of the possuk (Shmuel 1:18-7) Hikah Shaul b’alufav v ‘Dovid birivivosov—Shaul has slain his thousands and Dovid, his tens of thousands.’’
The Bais Yitzchok laughed and took great pride in the comment. While he was growing in Torah and learning with great hasmodah with his grandfather, Rav Yitzchok gave his consent to Rav Aharon taking the time to learn the two secular languages most prevalent in that area, Polish and German. He became completely fluent in both languages and spoke them with the fluency of his mother tongue.
Wrote Articles in Polish
He began to write articles in Polish. His expert knowledge of both languages would eventually serve as an instrumental tool in his being able to improve the lot of his Jewish brethren. In 1902, Rav Aharon married Dobbah, daughter of Rav Eliyahu Tzvi Friedman from the town of Vielitchka near Krakow. Rebbetzin Dobbah Lewin represented the grace, tznius and middos tovos of a bas Yisroel. Throughout their nearly 40 years of marriage, she stood by her husband’s side with great fortitude, wisdom and purity.
The Lewins established a wonderful family, a daughter, Preva followed by three sons –Yitzchok Lewin and the twins, Shmuel Dovid and Mordechai Lewin. Before his wedding, Rav Ahron’s grandfather, the Bais Yitzchok, wrote him an enthusiastic semicha document. It began, ‘‘Although it is well known that a father, by virtue of his closeness, cannot give testimony on his own son and this grandson of mine is like a dear son to me whom I raised, nevertheless, something that is well known to all does not require testimony.’’
The Bais Yitzchok continued to extol the virtues and scholarship of his grandson ‘‘who is destined to illuminate the rabbinic world’’. Rav Aharon also received semicha from Rav Chaim Aryeh Horowitz, Av Bais Din of Krakow and Rav Binyomin Aryeh Weiss, Av Bais din of the city of Chernowitz. (Yated Ne’eman, 29 Sivan 5770 – June 11, 2010.)