By Rabbi Naftali Weinberger
For many years, hundreds of men converged on the Lederman Shul in Bnei Brak on the first night of Rosh Hashanah to offer the customary greeting of shanah tovah to Rav Chaim Kanievsky. The line started before Maariv, as people tried to bypass the two-hour wait by approaching him before davening.
One year, the greetings took over four hours, as hundreds of people of all ages filed by Rav Chaim in the men’s section of the shul. One year, after hundreds had passed by to wish him a good year, Rav Chaim told the rebbetzin, “With Hashem’s help, we will have a very good year, since so many Yidden gave us a berachah for a shanah tovah!”
After giving berachos, Rav Chaim hurried to eat the Rosh Hashanah meal before midnight, as he was planning to wake up at his regular time to follow his chovos schedule of learning before sunrise. During the meal, one of the grandchildren asked him, “If you are going to get up so early tomorrow morning, how can you wish shanah tovah to so many people in one night?”
Rav Chaim quickly replied, “If so many Yidden come to wish us the berachah of a good year, how can we not stand there and get so many berachos?”
Reprinted from the Rosh Hashanah 5784 edition of the At the ArtScroll Shabbos Table. Excerpted from the ArtScroll book – Rav Chaim by Rabbi Naftali Weinberger.
