Novardok
רַבִּי אַבִּיגְדוֹר בֶּן יִּשְ רָאֵל הַכֹּהֵן מִּיללֶּער
כ"ז ניסן תשס"א
Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zatzal
This Tuesday (27 Nissan) is the 25th Yahrzeit of R' Avigdor Miller. He learned in Slabodka for six years under R' Eisek Sher Zatzal & R' Avrohom Grodzensky Zatzal, and became one of the greatest Baalei Mussar in the world.
R’ Ahron Zuckerman Shlita once saw him davening in Novardok Bais Yosef on 49th St. in Boro Park, on Erev Rosh Hashanah. He heard that R' Miller remarked that this place was warm with Yiras Shamayim, and he left his Kehilla in Flatbush to be there. Although he was from Slabodka, I always felt that he had a major common M'halech with Novardok, since both were ardent Talmidim of the Chovos Halvavos, who stresses no fear of people.
I was told by his Mishpacha that Mussar was his Geshmak in life. Those who were taught to appreciate Mussar have a ball throughout their lives I once spoke to an unusually successful Chasidishe leader about how he succeeded, and he told me a similar Yesod. He spent hours and hours with Hashem (to the extreme). R' Miller was also involved with Hashem to the extreme. At Chasuna’s, he wasn’t socializing like everyone else; instead, he was having much more enjoyment by standing alone and talking to Hashem. I know a person who he told to learn a tremendous amount of Mussar daily. He once said: “The Yetzer Hara doesn’t want you to learn Mussar, more than he doesn’t want you to learn Gemara”.
R' Miller said “Nisyonos activate!” They get the “juices flowing”! People without Nisyonos are like dead people! And in Novardok, a Nisayon was an opportunity to bring out your Bitachon in the open. I once heard R' Miller saying publicly: “The worse your wife is, the better!”
I noticed that he never put himself down. He famously said: “Better a positive lie than a negative truth” “Never verbalize a negative emotion”. When you are always saying happy stuff, you are going to become happy. Always have an Ayin Tova on everything in your life. Who knows how much you can accomplish when you write praises about yourself and others. There could be a major echo affect throughout the universe. This is why I became such a Chasid of R’ Miller, who was heavily involved in exaggerating the goodness of others, since I keep seeing how it pays to use positive lies!
R’ Miller dominated his life with positivity, since he understood the truth about what motivates people’s Middos. In this day-and-age we have a Yetzer Hara to look for pain and self-destructiveness. I never saw him become emotional except when he was Maspid his M’chutan, R’ Kanarek Zatzal, when he described how he had to knock on doors to raise money for his Yeshiva. Incidentally, he said that the single greatest thing a person can do with his life is Zikkui HaRabbim (even small things, like sweeping the Bais Medrash, etc.).
