The Chofetz Chaim's תורה ועבודה plan for all European Yeshiva Bochurim - Brace yourselves...

The following 2 pages are from the sefer "כתבי הרח"א ביחובסקי" - a compilation of letters, stories and vertlach from the Chabad Chossid Reb Chaim Eliezer HaCohen Bikhovski d.5684. Reb Chaim Lazer was a Chossid of Kopust/Bobroisk, and for a while, back in the days when the two groups were at odds with each other, his seforim would not be learned... But the sefer was published by a Lubavitcher (Reb Berel Levin) in 5750, and the sefer דרך מצותיך of the צמח צדק is quite popular in Lubavitch today. I say that to avoid the usual, predictable comments that some of you will make. Although the Kopuster and Bobruisker were probably more sympathetic to ציונות than their cousin the Rebbe RaSHaB, I doubt he was trying to preach Zionism here. Like I said to a friend earlier today; Those of you who are uncomfortable with the CC's solution to the "תורה ברענט" predicament in Europe during the previous century can take comfort in the words of the Ore Someach, Reb Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk, who, according to Rabbi N Kamenetzky in his epic "The Making of a Gadol" was to have called the Chofetz Chaim "א קליין-שטעטל'דיגער איד" who has no knowledge of real life in the big cities and should therefore not be attending the Rabbinic conferences of the early 1900s. Maybe this solution was also "קליין-שטעטל'דיג" and not rooted in reality. After all, other than a group of Slabodker bachurim there was no mass emigration to Eretz Yisroel before WW2. But the CC was content with bachurim learning 9 months a year and working the land of Eretz Yisroel for 3 months. Imagine that!

 

א "חסידי'ישע" ווארט פון הגאון רבי מאיר שמחה זצ"ל