With immense sorrow and deep grief, the world learned of the passing of Maran, the Prince of Torah, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky zy"a.

The powerful bond that existed between our teacher, the holy gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, and his family, with the Kanievsky family in general—and with Rabbi Chaim himself in particular—is well known. The Berland family purchased the Steipler’s apartment, and they were neighbors for 20 years, as The Rav relates.

With great pain, The Rav Rabbi Berland shlit"a eulogizes the Prince of Torah, Rabbi Kanievsky

With Hashem’s help: Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, in a personal, heart-shaking eulogy for Maran Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky zt"l

“We were neighbors for 20 years—door facing door. I saw him every day, several times a day. I prayed with him together in Lederman; that was our fixed synagogue for 20 years. From the day my children were born, they all prayed in Lederman together with Reb Chaim, and every one of them merited to see him day after day.

Truly, something like this has not existed for several hundred years: such a revelation of G-dliness shining through a human being. It is something impossible to contain, impossible to grasp. You cannot measure it by any standard in the world. To live near the giant of giants—‘the great man, the giant of giants’—and for 20 years to live attached to him, day by day.

And since the Rebbetzin (Berland) shlit"a taught until 4:00 PM, and the girls would come home from school with no food—an empty refrigerator—then in a steady routine, from ages 6 until 15, they would always go up to Batsheva (the Rebbetzin Kanievsky zt"l). She would feed them. This was fixed, day after day, from age 6 until age 15: all my daughters ate by Batsheva. She would go downstairs and prepare food for them.

We were bound to one another like an actual family—more than family! Batsheva truly became a mother to my daughters; she cared for them and raised them with tenderness. Because the Rebbetzin, from 8:00 in the morning, was not home until 4:00 PM—she carried the burden of livelihood, she carried everything. If not for Batsheva, who knows how they could have grown up. So this was physical help that was entirely spirituality. Because Batsheva and Reb Chaim were in the aspect of the Keruvim upon the Ark of the Covenant! In every generation there is a pair who are the Keruvim upon the Ark of the Covenant. In our generation, it was Reb Chaim and Batsheva—they were the Keruvim whose ‘faces were toward one another.’

And then you know the state of the generation; you know that Hashem forgives all sins. For the passing of Miriam is placed next to the Parah Adumah, to teach that the passing of a Tzaddik atones even more than the Parah Adumah.

‘The departure of Tzaddikim is twice as difficult as the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash.’

This day is an awesome and terrifying day. It is impossible to contain it—the dreadful calamity. This is the most terrible day that can be; it cannot be described. We never dreamed such a thing could happen. We were certain Reb Chaim would live with us until 120, and continue to lead us and guide us with his light and his counsel. The very fact that he lived here in this world drew down Divine light—the holy Shechinah. For the Tzaddik is the Shechinah, and his wife is an aid to the Shechinah; she is the sefirah of Malchus of the Shechinah.

Reb Chaim and Batsheva—both together—with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, continue to shine light upon the People of Israel; they continue to illuminate! It is forbidden to think that the soul departs. It is written in Gesher HaChaim that the greatest sin is to think the soul has left—this is the greatest sin of all. The soul does not depart; it remains with us! As it says in the Gemara (Shabbos 152): Rabbi Yehudah went to comfort someone who had no family, so he brought him ten men. After the shivah, the deceased came (to him in a dream) and said, ‘I was there!’

As Rav says: ‘Exert yourselves in my eulogy, for there I am standing’ (Shabbos 153a. Translation: Exert yourselves in my eulogy, for I am there listening. And Rashi explains: ‘At the time of my death, exert yourselves in my eulogy, so that the hearts of those standing there will be warmed and their compassion will be stirred, and they will cry.’) ‘Exert yourselves in the eulogy!’ No matter how much we eulogize, it is not even the tip of the sea—not a drop compared to the thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of kindnesses and goodness that Rabbi Chaim did with us! By his very remaining among us, by the very emanation of holiness that he bestowed upon us. All the Torah of the generation—sons, daughters, all the strengthening—everything was in his merit! All of it is his merit.

Just to see him for one second—you could learn Torah for all 120 years continuously, without distraction, without lifting your head from the sefer. And this is what we learned from Rabbi Chaim: I followed him for 20 years—during his lifetime he never lifted his head from the sefer! Whether on his way to the Chazon Ish kollel, whether… she would run, run after him—I remember it until today. He did not even look to see whether she was walking with him or not. On the way, with the children to kindergarten, he only held the sefer! His face was only in the sefer. He barely knew the streets—how to get to the Chazon Ish kollel! כך I followed him for 20 years, day after day. Such a wondrous figure will not exist again until Moshiach comes! His name was the letters of Moshiach (an acronym: Ma’ran Sh’maryahu Yosef Chaim)—his name was the letters of Moshiach.

He was the Moshiach of the generation, without any doubt! If we had merited, he would have been revealed—we would have seen his revelation. As the Chasam Sofer says (siman 98, Choshen Mishpat, in the Likkutim), that Moshiach is present in every generation. There is no generation without Moshiach! Only we do not have the merit—we do not have the merit that Melech HaMoshiach should be revealed to us. But he was Melech HaMoshiach of this generation, without any doubt. He truly was Moshiach, and the fact that he departed suddenly is because of the sins of the generation—and it atones for the generation.

For in truth there was a decree of shmad against the entire People of Israel, and now he sweetened that decree!

For in every generation there are decrees of shmad. That is why Mordechai could not devote himself fully to learning, because then there were dreadful decrees of shmad—‘to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews.’ Therefore he was ‘accepted by most of his brethren,’ because they did not understand that he was obligated to fight the decrees of shmad. But the moment it ended, he went up to Eretz Yisrael and returned to his learning, after the Megillah. This was Rabbi Chaim: he sweetened all the decrees—he sweetened them.

Everything that we have lived here in the Holy Land already 94 years—living here without any enemy or destroyer succeeding, no enemy prevailing—there are endless enemies, and only the merit of Rabbi Chaim stands for us. And it will stand for our generation and for all the generations to come, until Moshiach Tzidkeinu comes speedily in our days, amen.