Everyone has his own portrait of each Godol he has encountered. The following story of Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, the Steipler Gaon, is what comes to mind every time his name is mentioned. When he was drafted into the Russian Army and Shabbos approached, he marched right into his commander's office and let it be known that he would not be Mechallel Shabbos. The officer was so taken aback by the unprecedented chutzpa and suicidal gambit of this new recruit that he said he would allow him to keep Shabbos if he agreed to one condition. In a continuation of his stubbornness, the Steipler said he did not even have to tell him what he had in mind because – yes, he agreed.
“Okay,” said the officer. “In that case, since you will give more work to your co-soldiers, they will have the privilege of beating you to their hearts’ content.” Despite knowing the viciousness of these strong young men and their anti-Semitism, the Steipler not only happily accepted this savage near-death beating but he said that he carried these special moments with him for the rest of his life and was never able to do anything that could recapture or repeat the life that it pumped into his broken body. This was the way the Steipler approached every mitzva opportunity, Kala K'Chamura (easy or difficult).
