MARAN H'CHAZON ISH

HaRav Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz OB"M - to the Orbach House

The Orbach House - The home of Maran the "Chazon Ish" during his visit to Safed in the years 1934 and 1935 (תרצ"ד-תרצ"ה).

In this house, Maran the Chazon Ish, of blessed memory, stayed with his sister, the wife of Maran the Steipler Gaon, of blessed memory, and her son, Maran the "Sar HaTorah," Rabbi Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky, of blessed memory, during the years 1930 and 1931 (תר"צ-תרצ"א).

The house was built by Mrs. Esther Bendreli, of blessed memory, a granddaughter of the holy Rabbi of Rozhin, of blessed memory. She was a righteous woman who was unaware of the greatness and holiness of Maran. Maran the Chazon Ish offered her 3 liras for a room for a period of one month, but she wanted more. Rabbi Shraga Feivel Steinberg, of blessed memory, who accompanied Maran, told her that Maran did not have much money—only 2 liras—and that his students would contribute the remaining lira. She agreed and rented them a room with an adjacent bathroom and a separate kitchen. Maran, his sister, and her son, Rabbi Chaim, rented the room twice for a month, two years in a row. Maran, his sister, and Rabbi Chaim slept in one room: Maran on one side near the wall, his sister on the other side, and Rabbi Chaim in another bed.

Mrs. Esther Bendreli, of blessed memory, recounted that she immediately felt Maran's holiness. Once, she went outside at two in the morning and saw Maran standing in the courtyard wrapped in his tallit, swaying in prayer. She saw a pillar of fire above his head, was frightened, and ran back to her home. She also recounted that Maran brought a small Torah scroll with him and held a minyan in his room with the young men who accompanied him. Additionally, she shared that Maran affixed two mezuzahs—one on the door of the room, which previously had none, and the other at the entrance to his room. She further added that Maran would go down to the valley to search for non-grafted etrogs. She also mentioned that Maran's sister brought meat and salted it herself, while they only purchased dairy products from her, made from the cows she owned.

The above is from the testimony of the Gaon Rabbi Avraham Horowitz, of blessed memory, who heard from Mrs. Esther Bendreli, of blessed memory, and from Maran the "Sar HaTorah," Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, of blessed memory, who confirmed that all the details she recounted were accurate and true. Rabbi Chaim, of blessed memory, also added that during the first year, he was close to his bar mitzvah, and in the second year, he had already reached bar mitzvah age and read from the Torah with Maran in Safed. [Source: Aruchot Rabbeinu Chaim Halevi, pp. 155-156]

It is also recounted that Maran prayed with an early morning minyan (vatikin) in his room at the lodging. One day, Maran requested to hold the minyan on the house's balcony. When the members of the minyan did not understand the reason for the change, the Chazon Ish quickly explained that in the room where they usually prayed, his young nephew, Chaim Kanievsky, was sleeping. He was concerned that if the boy woke up while still in his nightclothes, he might feel embarrassed. Therefore, Maran asked to change the location of the minyan. [Source: Maran the Chazon Ish, Chapter 35, p. 134]