Rabbi Meir Dan was born in Kutno in the year 5627 [1866–1867] to his father Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak Plotzky, a scholar and ardent Chassid, one of the followers of the Chassidic rebbe Rabbi Chanoch Henich of Alexander. After the latter's death he became one of the important followers of the rebbe of Ger, the author of S'fas Emes, and was among his inner circle. His mother, Mrs. Gela, was a distinguished woman and one of the most righteous and well known women of Kutno, who implanted in her beloved son the love of Torah and yiras Shomayim from the moment he could understand, even before he went to cheder.
When he was only eleven months old Rabbi Meir Dan came down with a mortal disease. The doctors in Kutno refused to treat him any further, as they saw no possibility of saving his life. His father Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak rushed to the house of his teacher, Rabbi Chanoch Henich Hacohen of Alexander, and bitterly poured out his heart about his terrible trouble. The rebbe gave him a blessing for a complete recovery, but Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak remained there, immersed in pain. He knew what the doctors of Kutno had said before he left his house. He had left his baby son at the very edge of death.
“Why are you worried? You will yet derive much pleasure from him. He will be a great rabbi in Israel,” the great rebbe said. Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak pulled himself together at that moment, and no longer hurried to get back to the bed of his sick child. He stayed for a while in Alexander in the presence of his teacher and rabbi. Then the little Rabbi Meir Dan gradually regained his strength. When he grew up and gained understanding, he was found to have exceptional abilities, an unusual acuity of mind. He was already thought of as a prodigy even before he was brought to the cheder.
His father Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak was never a wealthy man. He barely made a living as a clerk and trusted employee, a bureaucrat for wealthy Jews who owned great woodlands in western Poland. Generally his work, whether in the forest or in a village, was located close to where they felled trees. Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak wandered from place to place along with his family and his brilliant son. But his mother was concerned about his studies. So she went out and sold her jewelry and engaged exceptional teachers, who stayed in the villages with her family and taught the little Rabbi Meir Dan. He rapidly progressed in the levels of Torah study to the point where he was considered a great prodigy. When Rabbi Meir Dan eulogized his mother after her death he highlighted the greatness of her spirit, her rare moral qualities and the extraordinary deeds of a young woman who would sell her jewelry in order to have higher caliber teachers, who shared their high level of knowledge.
When Rabbi Meir Dan was nine years old he was no longer in the hands of wandering teachers. Even the best of them had nothing more to teach the young prodigy. So despite his young age his parents sent him to Kalish, to the yeshiva of the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Eliezer Wachs, the rabbi of the city and author of Nefesh Chaya. At first visitors to the rabbi's house had doubts about what such a young child was doing there and attending the rabbi's lectures, even if he were gifted. But once Rabbi Wachs examined Rabbi Meir Dan he immediately included him in the group of his best students. From that time on he never stopped loving him and caring for his needs. After a few years Rabbi Meir Dan moved to Sochachow [Sochaczew], to the yeshiva of the Chassidic rebbe Rabbi Avraham, author of Avnei Nezer, a place where exceptional scholars and giants of the Torah tended to concentrate. The lectures of the gaon of Sochachow were replete with such sharpness and depth that even adult students with great abilities at times found them difficult to comprehend. Nevertheless, the young Rabbi Meir Dan quickly succeeded in becoming part of this elite group. When he was thirteen years old his father arranged a Bar Mitzvah celebration in Kutno and invited all the leaders of the city to the event. Rabbi Meir Dan himself composed a discourse, which overwhelmed all those who heard it with its acuity and profundity. Word of the talk reached his teacher and rabbi, the rebbe of Sochachow. When Rabbi Meir Dan returned to his yeshiva he was asked to reprise his discourse that had become known. This veteran prince of the Torah listened to his young student and said, “One can debate what he said, but he built a beautiful structure and it would be a shame to bring it down when it is just as likely that it will stand....”
