NOVARDOK

With all their Ayin Tova, Novardokers weren't starry-eyed Temimim who loved everyone and trusted everyone that you could step all over them. On the contrary, they were very with-it and streetwise. When they built their Yeshivos in all kinds of strange cities, they needed to have their feet on the ground.

There were plenty of wars between them and the Haskalah. They weren't always met with open-arms when they took upon a new Torah project.

And they weren't pushovers. Despite their never-ending goodness, there is a famous story with the Alter Zatzal who kicked someone out from his Yeshiva since his behavior was detrimental to the future of Novardok. I was told that R' Gershon Zatzal once went over to a fellow Novardoker and "let him have it” for not protesting for Kavod HaTorah. There is a famous story where they were locked out of the shul that was given to them to use as a Yeshiva.

At night, they took ladders and climbed into the windows and learned all night in that shul. In the morning, they were found by the Baalei Battim, who threw up their hands in defeat. Just like they fought their Yetzer Hara, so did they fight the enemies of Torah and Mussar. They also knew how-and-when to give-in and make peace. When a communist Rasha would come to town to speak for the masses, the Novardokers would "let him have it" and heckle him publicly.

They would scream out words of Torah or Mussar while he spoke right in front of everybody. They were fearless, and they lived with the truth. One Passuk in the Torah is more powerful than the whole world.