Remembering Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, zt"l, לזכור הרב נתן צבי פינקל, צז"ל

In truth, Rav Nosson Tzvi came from humble origins, and that was part of his greatness. He would often retell the story:

"At the time, my name was Nate. I was a tall and lanky kid wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball cap, and I was exhausted from the trip. It was well over 24 hours since I had left Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. In the early 1960s, it could take nearly a day and a half for one to travel from America to Israel. I was anxious to get settled and get a good night’s sleep.

"I was related to the rosh yeshiva, Rav Leizer Yudel Finkel, and was relieved to see him coming down the corridor. I greeted him with a smile and a warm ‘Shalom aleichem!’

"But his response surprised me. ‘So, tell me a chiddush on what you’ve been learning.’ I could not believe it. Couldn’t the entrance exam wait until the morning? As it was, I was coming from Arie Crown Day School in Chicago. The level of learning in the Mirrer Yeshiva was certainly quite a jump from my high school, and I felt a bit anxious about coming to the Mir without the intensive background that most boys had.

"‘I don’t really have a chiddush,’ I said. The rosh yeshiva looked at me, and instead of inviting me into his apartment, directed me to the bais medrash. ‘Don’t come down until you have a chiddush.’

"I felt like crying. I could not believe this was happening. Slowly, I walked up the steps, sat down on one of the benches, and stared blankly at the pages of the Gemara. A half hour passed and once again I went down to Rav Leizer Yudel. ‘Well, do you have a chiddush?’ I admitted that I did not, and again I was sent back to the bais medrash. Now I began to worry. Maybe I had made a terrible mistake by coming to the Mir. Maybe I would never fit in. But all the while, regardless of my nervousness and negative thoughts, I knew somehow - by the love and caring that emanated from the rosh yeshiva - that this was a test that I must, and would, pass. So I went back to the bais medrash to develop an original Torah thought.

"A half hour later, I emerged with ‘efsher ah diyuk in ah Rashi, perhaps a thought on a Rashi.’ Hesitantly, I approached my cousin once more and shared my ‘chiddush.’ Rav Leizer Yudel’s face broke out into a wide grin. He smiled at me, opened his arms and placed a kiss on my forehead. ‘Shalom aleichem! Welcome to the Mirrer Yeshiva!’”

The rosh yeshiva continued with his story:

"After eating and talking for a while with the rosh yeshiva and his rebbetzin, I was shown to my room. I thanked my cousins for their warmth and hospitality and gladly lay down to sleep. A short while later, the door opened. Rav Leizer Yudel was checking to make sure that I was sleeping, and although I gave no indication that I was still up, I peeked out from under my covers to witness something incredible.

"Located directly above my bed was a set of Shas. Rav Leizer Yudel spread out his hands until they were able to touch both ends of the collection of Gemaros. And then, with deep emotion, he hugged and kissed them. ‘Torah, ich hub dir azoi leeb! Torah, I love you so much!”

That memorable first day and night remained etched in the rosh yeshiva’s memory forever. Nate quickly became Nosson, and he learned and learned and learned. And he never stopped. His modest beginnings gave him unusual insight into the hearts and souls of even novices in learning. When they were afraid to dream on their own, he would dream for them. He believed in his talmidim and thus helped them reach inconceivable heights.
Source: https://ajop.site-ym.com/?HaRavFinkel