One of the righteous geniuses of the previous generation in Yerushalayim was the Rav David Klein tz’l, author of Beis Arazim, a faithful talmid of his teacher, the holy Minchas Elazar of Munkatch zt”l. He merited to follow in his footsteps for many years, from his youth, serving him and studying in his exalted yeshivah. The Munkatcher Rebbe mentions him in his sefer Divrei Torah (part 7, section 85), where he struggles with a particularly difficult question. Rav David, then a young talmid in his yeshiva, provided a wonderful resolution. And these are his holy words: “And while I was troubled by this, the best of our yeshivah students, my dear friend, sharp and knowledgeable in the chambers of Torah, the wonderful David Klein from here, provided an answer, etc.”
Rav David Klein merited to ascend to the Holy Land and embrace its soil. After settling in Yerushalayim, he refused to leave it under any circumstances. In his great diligence and care not to waste time, he would not travel to holy places at all. Even when many Yerushalayimites arranged trips to Meron or other holy sites, he always refused to join them, saying that none of these trips justified neglecting Torah study!
As a general rule, from the day he arrived in Yerushalayim, the holy city, he strove not to leave it, saying that just as the Land of Yisrael is holier than all other lands and should not be abandoned, so too is Yerushalayim holier than all other cities in Eretz Yisrael and should not be left! (See Responsa Chatam Sofer, Yoreh De’ah, chapter 233).
However, I remember that once on the 15th of Tammuz, the hillula of the holy Ohr HaChaim, after much pleading, he was persuaded to join a trip to the holy grave on Har Hazeisim, since it is within the boundaries of the holy city and he did not have to leave its sanctity. He agreed to travel to the holy grave just that one time, and aside from that, he never participated in such trips. His usual practice was only to go every Shabbos night for the Kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv prayers at the site of the remnants of our holy Beis Hamikdash, as was the custom of many Jerusalemites from earlier generations.
Hashem granted me the privilege to be close to him, to serve him in Torah, halachah, and various matters, but this is not the place to elaborate. (Read about him in Tiv HaKehillah 5771, Parashas Emor, and in Tiv HaKehillah 5772, Shavuos.)
