THE TALMUD SAYS that if the nations of the world understood what the existence of the Temple meant for them, they would have protected it instead of destroyed it (Succah 55b). They didn’t understand that the Jewish Temple was a place of prayer on behalf of the entire world, as they will understand in the Messianic Era. We mention this each time in Selichos right before “Shema Kolainu.”
Instead they saw the Temple only as a Jewish thing and destroyed it, not once, but twice, the Babylonians the First Temple in 423 BCE, and the Romans the Second Temple in 70 CE. They had no idea that they were cutting off their noses to spite their faces, but that’s on us.
It’s also true about Gedolei HaTorah, exemplary Torah scholars. Who’s making the biggest difference to world history? World leaders. Corporate leaders. Social activists. Clearly. Torah scholars? Not as far as 99 percent of the world is concerned. They may know a phenomenal amount of Torah, but what difference does that make to the history of mankind.
Therefore when hundreds of thousands turn out to accompany another Torah great, this time the venerable Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, to his final resting place (of his body, at least), it frustrates more than it impresses. It takes thousands of police personnel to manage the large crowds, many Hatzollah people to make sure that no one gets hurt or worse, God forbid, and makes an even bigger mess of already very messy traffic. They can’t wait until it is over and dread the next one.
If they understood and appreciated the true significance of such great people, they would tear their clothing in mourning as well. But we’re talking about people who may or may not believe in God, who may or may not believe in the divine origin of Torah, and who may or may not believe in the spiritual world as the basis of the physical world.
I do, somewhat. The millions of Torah Jews around the world who mourned Rav Chaim’s passing do, somewhat. We know from tradition that when such great Torah leaders die, it leaves a spiritual black hole. We just don’t know how big a black hole or what its negative effects might eventually be for the Jewish people and the world.
For example, Russia is at war with the Ukraine. The world is afraid to stand up to Russia too forcefully because they don’t want another world war, and certainly not a nuclear one. But we didn’t want World War II or World War I either, but got them anyhow. And the same year the great Chofetz Chaim died was the year that Adolf Hitler, ysv”z, became Chancellor of Germany and chief architect of the Holocaust.
Did the Chofetz Chaim hold off World War II. Probably. By himself. Not necessarily. But it’s like a bridge. There are thousands of nuts and bolts holding the average metal bridge together and keeping it safe. The removal of one is not necessarily dangerous, but it can be, depending upon its importance to the integrity of the structure. Removing it may not bring down the bridge, but it may transfer additional stress to other nuts and bolts that, over time, will fail because of that little bit of extra stress. Engineering is that precise.
History is even more precise. The world may look crazy and it has even fooled geniuses into believing that it has randomly evolved, but everything has been happening with a level of precision completely unfathomable by man. If something exists billions of light years, it has to for the balance of Creation. If something exists but is so small that the best we can do is surmise it is there, it is necessary for the balance of Creation. When a caterpillar on a deserted island turns into a butterfly that flutters its wings to take flight, that is necessary for the balance of Creation or purpose of existence.
How? Who knows, besides God. But though all of it is necessary little of its matches the importance of a tzaddik and Gadol b’Torah to that balance and purpose. It says that righteous people decree, and God fulfills. It doesn’t say that about anyone or anything else, only tzaddikim. Likewise, it says, God personally mourns their passing.
It’s true that Rav Chaim was quite old (94 years old). It is true that his health was failing him. As one person said, we’re usually more surprised that people are alive at that age than if they passed on. But great people like Rav Chaim can go on for years against nature, and often do. If most people ate like Rav Aryeh Leib Shteinman, zt”l, did, they would die from malnutrition early. He lived and led until the age of 103 years. He is just one of many such examples from over the millennia.
So yes, God took Rav Chaim, and he took him now for a very precise reason. On one hand, Rav Chaim will go to Heaven and continue his fight on behalf of the Jewish people from there with all the other great advocates of our nation. On the other hand, a major bolt in an already unsteady world has been removed, and you have to wonder what this means for the future of those left behind.
A large spiritual blackhole has opened up. We should pray hard that it doesn’t swallow us up and do everything we can to minimize it through our own efforts to improve ourselves spiritually. Our future very much depends upon it, and that is OUR opportunity from this major bend in the road.