The Gaon of Lipinshock:
The following story, related by the Chofetz Chaim zt”l, shows us how anyone with a desire to reach greatness in Torah can achieve incredible things:
In the bais medrash of the city of Lipinshok, which is located near Vilna, there was a regular daily shiur on Mishnayos. When the shiur learned Maseches Yevamos, they obviously used to word “yavam” a lot.
One day, sitting near the shiur was a man who had been a “Cantonist.” He had been forcibly drafted into the Russian army at a very young age and made to serve for many years under the forces that tried to tear Yiddishkeit away from him. Some people would derogatorily refer to Cantonists like him as “Yavan” (Greek).
When he heard the men repeating the word “yavam”, he thought they were mocking him and calling him “Yavan”. He yelled at them, “Do you really gather here in the bais medrash to make fun of me? Do you think it was my choice to enter the army?”
They explained to him that they were saying the word “yavam” with a “mem”, but he said that he didn’t believe such a word existed and, since he couldn’t read, he wouldn’t trust them unless someone taught him how to read in Hebrew. One man volunteered and began to teach him how to read, and he eventually began to learn and more.
The Chofetz Chaim concluded the story by saying, “I merited knowing this man after he had been given the title of ‘the Gaon of Lipinshock.”
