Novardok: Being Mach'nia
A 16-year-old Bachur in Bussières was doing something wrong, and R’ Gershon Zatzal yelled at him. That night, the Bachur went to sleep, and he had already said K'riyas Sh’ma Al HaMitta, when suddenly he heard a knock at his door. It was R' Gershon Zatzal telling him that he had made a Cheshbon HaNefesh, and had decided that he had done wrong by yelling at him. He was now asking Mechila.
This Bachur became one of R' Gershon’s top Talmidim and a major M'zakeh HaRabbim. He is now about 80 years old, and he says that he can’t forget this story. R' Gershon Zatzal once potched a Bachur, and the next day he called his Yeshiva together for a Shmuess. During the Shmuess, he apologized to the Bachur publicly for hitting him, and he said that Hashem had punished him, and his hand was full of pain all night long. This Bachur told me this story, which he cannot forget (and he loves R' Gershon Zatzal).
Someone once got angry at the Hanahala of Novardok, and he left the Yeshiva and went home. The next day, R' Gershon Zatzal made a special trip, to fall down at his doorstep to ask Mechila. Needless to say, this brought the boy back to Yiddishkeit.
Being Mach'nia was a major Inyan in Novardok, and those who were into this Sugya were proud of their ability to be Mach'nia. Especially R' Gershon himself, and R' Ozer Schwartz Zatzal and R' Chaim Halperin Zatzal; they were all soft as butter, and they were very sincere (it wasn’t just a game to be “Yotzei” asking Mechila).
They believed that Hachna'a brings all the Brachos, Yeshuos, and Refuos. I have seen first-hand the power of Hachna'a when I needed a Refua. Speaking softly and listening to others, being M'vater and giving in; not getting angry, and not answering back, tolerating a difficult Matzav; all these are forms of Hachna'a.
When something went wrong, the #1 form of Teshuva was exercising Hachna'a. R' Gershon could also be quite a Chevra'man. When R' Binyamin Schwartz Zatzal came to Bussières, R' Gershon asked him: “What brings you here? We have almost all Sephardim, and you are an Ashkenazi who doesn’t really belong here!”. Right after R' Gershon said this, R' Binyamin’s brother-in-law, R' Chaim Halperin Zatzal convinced him to stay. However, the next day, R' Gershon told him again that he doesn’t belong there, and again R’ Chaim convinced him to stay. I don’t know why R' Gershon did this, but it may very well have been a reverse psychology, to keep him in Yeshiva. Chazal say: הֱוֵי עָרוּם בְיִרְ אָה ברכות יז א Be shrewd and cunning in Yiras Shamayim.
Indeed, the Alter of Slabodka Zatzal was famous for these types of shticks, and I’m sure Novardok “held-its-own” in these areas. They weren’t pushovers in Novardok, and I was told that one of their top men had been blackmailed to work for them.
This top man was extremely successful, and it was a tremendous To'eles benefit for himself. R' Binyamin Zatzal was a Baal Teshuva. He had learned in Gateshead for the last five years with great Hasmada, until R' Chaim Halperin Zatzal convinced him to come to Novardok, since they worked on not caring about: מַּה יֹּאמְרוּ הַּבְרִ יוֹת What will people say??
As soon as he came to R' Gershon, almost immediately, R' Gershon sent him to become a fund-raiser for the Yeshiva. The Yeshiva became millionaires, and even supported other Yeshivos (with a famous $1000 check to Lakewood). R' Binyamin became a Tzaddik Yesod Olam, and was their pride and joy. He was an older brother to my Rebbe, R' Ozer Schwartz Zatzal.
