Concern in the Torah world as the condition of Ponevezh Yeshiva elder 'the diligent' worsens

The eminent Rabbi Chaim Berman, known as “the diligent” of the yeshiva, has been hospitalized in grave danger with severe pneumonia. Ponevezh Yeshiva Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi David Lavi stopped the main lecture and asked for prayers.

Deep anxiety and tearful prayers filled the hall of the prestigious Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak in recent hours, after reports of a serious and dangerous deterioration in the medical condition of the great scholar of the generation, Rabbi Chaim Berman. According to information obtained by Kikar HaShabbat, at the end of the central general lecture at the yeshiva, Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi David Lavi went out of his way, stopped the thousands of students crowding the hall, and unusually asked them to immediately begin reciting Psalms for the complete recovery of whom he described as “the pillar of the yeshiva.”

Cries of weeping were heard in the hall, as Rabbi Berman’s son, Rabbi Yisrael Berman, led the public prayer before the ark. From the hospital room, Kikar HaShabbat received chilling testimonies. One close associate said, “Even amid tremendous pain, Rabbi Chaim Berman does not stop learning and keeps the yeshiva’s schedule to the minute, 1:30 Mincha, 8:00 mussar, 8:30 Maariv. His pervasive holiness left a deep impression on the staff. A secular nurse who came to treat him suddenly stopped and said to him in trembling: ‘I see that you are a holy person. Don’t worry, I won’t touch you, I will only treat what is medically necessary.’”

Three weeks after suffering severe weakness, Rabbi Berman’s condition worsened drastically and became complicated in recent hours, with severe pneumonia now added to the existing complications. Rabbi Chaim Berman is suffering from severe breathing difficulties, is currently connected to oxygen machines, and his doctors describe his condition as “a great and immediate danger.”

Several weeks ago, Rabbi Chaim Berman was hospitalized for several days following a deterioration in his medical condition. Since being discharged home, he has not yet recovered his strength, and his elevated, legendary presence has been notably missed in the great hall of the yeshiva.

At age 86, Rabbi Berman is regarded by the leading sages of the generation as a “hidden tzaddik” and a walking Torah wonder. Despite his age, his daily routine remains that of a young bochur: every day, exactly at 6:00 a.m., he is already at his post in the hall, studying continuously and with unimaginable diligence until midnight. He is considered the last living bridge to the generation of giants, having studied and absorbed Torah from the Ponevezh Rav, the mashgichim Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler and Rabbi Yitzchak Levinstein, and Rabbi Shach, and he was closely associated with Rabbi Gershon Edelstein and, among the living, Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Baruch Dov Povarsky.

Those in the yeshiva say that מאז his marriage, at the instruction of the mashgiach Rabbi Yitzchak Levinstein, who permitted him to leave “for a few minutes” in the afternoon because he was an avrech, he has maintained this fixed schedule faithfully for decades. Although he has never held an official position, his greatness is such that “his name is greater than the title of rabbi.” He is fully fluent in all sugyot of Shas and mussar, and gives lectures and “chaburos” immediately after prayers to large audiences, while greeting everyone warmly and smiling like the youngest of the students. For the students of Ponevezh Yeshiva, this is a shocking sight, as Rabbi Berman is known as a man who did not miss even a single day of study in the hall, never left the walls of the beit midrash, and is considered the greatest diligent scholar of our generation.

In light of his severe medical condition and prolonged absence from the yeshiva, Ponevezh Yeshiva Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Baruch Dov Povarsky issued a historic and moving letter of sanctity to all the yeshiva’s students and alumni, in which he lavished extraordinary and lofty titles upon him. In his letter, the Rosh Yeshiva refers to Rabbi Chaim Berman by the rare title “the great luminary” and states that “we are all obligated to bear his suffering,” while calling for increased prayer for his complete recovery.

The Torah הציבור בכל אתר ואתר are called upon to join the cry of the thousands of students on the yeshiva hill, to interrupt their studies and tear open the gates of heaven for the complete and speedy recovery of the great luminary, Rabbi Chaim ben Reishah Rizel (Berman), among the other sick of Israel, and for him to soon return to the great light of the hall of Torah with renewed strength.