Rabbi Elya Svei zt"l passed away on Rosh Chodesh Nisan 5769 (March 26, 2009). He was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia together with Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, and was internationally known for his incisive, brilliant and clear shiurim (lectures), and his ability to offer sage advice to thousands of Jews worldwide. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah until he resigned in 2002.
Yeshiva Son attended the funeral, and was told by someone who learned with R' Svei that some twenty years ago he said that this year, 5769, would be the year of geulah, our redemption. Must be a "coincidence" that he passed in this year?
I found this story about him in a thread of comments; it speaks volumes about what constitutes "greatness."
R’ Svei zt”l was an amazing person. I remember one particular story about him: my grandfather zt”l had a hard life. He went through Auschwitz and lost his family as a young man. When he came to the US, he had to work hard to support his family. He once commented to me that one of his biggest regrets was that he never really learned how to learn Gemara properly - as a boy he already had to help support his family, as his father was taken away by the Nazis very early, and later he had to support his family in the US. However, the emunah and bitachon he had was amazing.
One summer, he and my grandmother were given a small vacation by one of their children (my aunt and uncle). It was to a small bungalow somewhere in the mountains which they owned, I believe. It turned out that R’ Svei zt”l was staying there for a few days also, in a neighboring bungalow.
My grandfather didn’t know who R’ Svei was. He simply saw a Jew there, sitting outside with a sefer. He went over, said Shalom Aleichem, and introduced himself. R’ Svei ended up sitting an talking with my grandfather for hours - about life in Europe, the difficulties when he came to the US, his experience during the war, and other things.
The next day, my grandfather walked outside, and R’ Svei approached him. He wanted to talk with him again! Every day of his trip, R’ Svei zt”l would sit and speak with my grandfather.
My aunt and uncle came for the last day or two my grandfather was there, and saw him speaking to R’ Svei. My uncle knew who he was, and was a [bit] surprised. He knew R’ Svei spent his time learning, and didn’t know that after the first day, he had approached my grandfather.
When my grandfather left for a few minutes, my uncle asked, “Is the Rosh yeshiva ok speaking to my father in law? Is it disturbing the Rosh Yeshiva’s learning?”
R’ Svei replied, “To speak with such a person, who went through so much, and maintained such a level of emunah and bitachon is such an amazing experience. I myself can take so much mussar from it, I don’t want to pass it up!”
After my grandparents left, my uncle asked my grandfather if he knew who his new friend was. My grandfather replied, “He told me his name is Elya Svei. He is a very nice, ehrliche Jew, and I’m happy I met him.”
My uncle told him exactly who R’ Elya was, and my grandfather said, “Good. I’m glad that he is a Rosh Yeshiva. After speaking with him, it’s clear to see how much he cares for B’nei Yisrael, and I’m sure he does an excellent job teaching people how to be proper Jews.”
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