The Day Rabbi Chaim Ozer Saw Right Into My Heart

Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky once shared a personal and moving story from his days as a young student in the Novardok Yeshiva.

He recalled how one day, Rabbi Eliyahu Mishkovsky informed him, “Tomorrow at 11:00, I will take you to visit Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.” Rabbi Chaim Ozer was considered the greatest Torah authority of his generation, the chief rabbi of Vilna. Many people dreamed of entering his study and seeing his holy face.

“I was so excited about the visit,” Rabbi Galinsky recounted. “I imagined that Rabbi Chaim Ozer would test me on the tractate we were studying—Tractate Yevamot—or ask me to share a new insight I had discovered in my learning.

“So I didn’t sleep a minute that night. I sat up reviewing the Gemara (Talmud) and preparing a chidush, an original Torah idea, that I could present before the Torah genius.”

The next day arrived. The moment he had waited for was finally here.

“I entered the house and stood before Rabbi Chaim Ozer, trembling with awe. In my heart, I was praying that he wouldn’t ask me something too difficult from Tractate Yevamot.”

But to his surprise, Rabbi Chaim Ozer didn’t ask about Torah learning at all.

Instead, he looked at him and asked three simple questions.

“First he asked, ‘Do you receive letters from home?’ I answered, ‘No. There’s a border between us—my parents are in Russia, and I’m in Lithuania.’

“Then he asked, ‘Do you have a good place to sleep—with a blanket and a pillow?’ I told him I did.

“And then came the third question: ‘Are your shoes in good condition? Can I see them?’”

Rabbi Galinsky continued the story:

“In those days, most boys in the Novardok Yeshiva had shoes that were terribly worn out. Mine, by chance, were still in pretty good shape.

“Rabbi Chaim Ozer reached into his drawer and took out a large sum of money—equal to about fifty dollars today. He handed it to me and said, ‘My door is open to you. Come to me whenever you need.’”

And that was the moment Rabbi Yaakov could no longer hold back.

“I burst into tears. The warmth, the fatherly care shown to an unknown yeshiva boy by the greatest Torah leader of the generation—completely overwhelmed me.”

He later added, “That moment became a lesson for life. It taught me what it truly means to feel another Jew’s pain and to greet them with a warm and loving face.”

Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky (1921–2014) was a beloved teacher and storyteller, known for his deep messages delivered with humor and heart. A leader in the Novardok Mussar movement (a school of thought focused on ethical and spiritual growth), he headed the Novardok Yeshiva in Hadera and touched countless lives with his inspiring talks—often leaving his listeners both laughing and crying.