The Secret Kindness of Rabbi Chaim Greineman

A Torah Giant Disappears Every Friday

The late Rabbi Chaim Shaul Greineman was widely known as a Torah scholar of extraordinary diligence, possessing encyclopedic knowledge across every area of Torah study. Admirers often marveled at his self-discipline and devotion to learning. But for years, there was one mystery that even his closest students couldn’t solve: where did the revered rabbi disappear to every Friday afternoon for nearly two hours?

His secluded study locations were well known and always chosen to avoid distractions. But his consistent, unexplained absence so close to Shabbat was a puzzle no one could crack.

An Emergency Unveils the Truth

According to the account published in Ish L'Rei'eihu, the mystery was finally unraveled one Friday when an agitated man arrived at Rabbi Greineman’s home just two hours before Shabbat. The rabbi’s wife calmly explained that he was unavailable at that time. The man returned a short while later in visible distress, insisting that the matter was urgent, truly a matter of pikuach nefesh (saving a life).

Realizing the potential seriousness, the Rebbetzin relented. She whispered an address on Rechov Rabbi Akiva, where she said the rabbi could be found.

The man rushed to the apartment and knocked. When the door opened, he was stunned. Rabbi Chaim stood there, sleeves rolled up, sweating, surrounded by water, and holding a mop and floor rag. He was in the middle of scrubbing the floor.

The startled visitor apologized profusely and explained that he had received the address only because the Rebbetzin had believed the matter was one of life and death. Once he received the halachic (Jewish legal) answer he sought, the man stood frozen, shocked by what he had seen.

A Lesson in Quiet Chesed

Sensing the man’s discomfort, Rabbi Chaim spoke gently:
"Every Jew must perform acts of kindness with his own body, not just his money or words. Outside, I’m not given the chance. But here, I have my opportunity."

He explained that a lonely, elderly man lived in the apartment. The man had confided in Rabbi Chaim about his physical difficulties in preparing for Shabbat. So the Torah giant took it upon himself, week after week, to clean the home for him, quietly, with no one watching, and without any fanfare.

Before the man left, Rabbi Chaim asked him firmly not to tell anyone. The story only became known years later, after the rabbi’s passing.

A Hidden World of Holiness

This story, now revealed, shows the true greatness of Rabbi Chaim Shaul Greineman, not only in Torah knowledge but also in hidden, humble acts of kindness. For him, cleaning a stranger’s floor in secrecy was not beneath his dignity. It was the ultimate fulfillment of chesed shel emet, a true kindness for which there is no expectation of reward or recognition.

It is stories like these that remind us that the greatest spiritual heights are often reached in the simplest and quietest of deeds.