The Grach Na’eh serves as a prime example of a Torah scholar who was accepted in almost all Jewish communities—from Bukhara and Egypt to Russia and Hungary. His teachings, based on Jerusalem custom, received the blessing of Jerusalem’s great rabbis from all circles and became the accepted ruling. Even the Chazon Ish, his halachic opponent, greatly appreciated his Torah greatness. Simultaneously, the Grach was a Chabad chasid with all his heart and soul. He headed a yeshivah in Jerusalem that worked to spread Chasidut among those unfamiliar with it, he traveled to Lubavitch many times, and was one of the first to passionately connect with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, even when there were Chabad chasidim in Jerusalem who hesitated to do so. When Chabad chasidim in Jerusalem signed a letter requesting the Rebbe to accept the leadership, he insisted that they write the customary honorific titles at the head of the letter saying: “For me, he is already Rebbe!” It is possible that the support of a Torah scholar of such stature influenced the Rebbe’s decision to ultimately accept the yoke of leadership.
The Grach’s devotion to the Alter Rebbe is also evident in his writings, to which he was especially dedicated. He used to say that in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, there are hidden “teachings within teachings,” and when one toils and delves deeply, one discovers entire topics folded within individual words. The Grach also engaged in the rulings in the Alter Rebbe’s siddur, clarifying their correctness and delving into them. Interestingly, his occupation with measurements and their precise sizes also has a source in the words of the Alter Rebbe: “Because the commandments were given to us through the embodiment of the attribute of gevurah (might) and contraction... most commandments have a precise measure.”
Indeed, this is what Rabbi Avraham Chaim’s daughters recount:
When father was writing his book Shiurei Torah, he was constantly engaged in these matters. Throughout the day, father was occupied with measuring various objects. I, as a little girl, would go to bring him the scale from the goldsmith. He told me to bring a scale specifically from him, since a goldsmith has an almost perfect scale, as he uses it to weigh very small gold particles. With this scale, he would weigh all sorts of objects. On the table in our room, where father would sit and study, there was no space for so much as a matchstick. Half the table was covered with father’s books, and on the other half stood various weights, large and small eggs, and different types of olives. (Eggs and olives are used as basic measurements in Jewish law).
Father would also call various people and measure their thumbs and the length of their palms, to examine different opinions in accordance with today's reality. Besides this, when father was in the synagogue, he would always measure the length of people’s tzitzit. Once when he measured someone’s tzitzit on Shabbat. The person said to him: “Are you not measuring, which is forbidden on Shabbat?” But Rabbi Chaim immediately answered him: “This measurement is a mitzvah, and it is permitted to do so on Shabbat!”
When father arrived in Bnei Brak, one of the daughters recounts, he came to visit the Chazon Ish, and the Chazon Ish walked several blocks to greet him. The Chazon Ish respected him greatly, despite disagreeing with him on fundamental issues.
