Handwritten and signed responsum from the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein who was asked why there are no Chassidic books at all in the Ponovezh yeshivah, “There is no Noam Elimelech , Kedushat Levi and the other disciples of the Besh”t zy”a, the questioner even dared to ask, “Why the hatred? Is this how they were raised?”
The gaon writes in his instructional response, “There is no hatred, G-d forbid, it’s just that to understand Noam Elimelech , Kedushat Levi and the like, basic foundations are necessary that have not been acquired by everyone, in contrast to works of mussar by our rabbis – the Early Authorities such as Rabbeinu Yonah, and the RaMCha”l, which apply to everyone” and he adds: “And our Chassidic rabbis say that whoever does not know how to read each line of Noam Elimelech backward and forward, cannot read it forward either.” He then relates an interesting point about the Steipler: “And our rabbi, author of Kehillat Yaakov would regularly spend time with the Chassidic books, as well as Rabbi Dessler ztz”l, the mashgiach and guide of Ponovezh …”
Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein (b. 1934) is a Lithuanian-yeshivah rabbi and halachic adjudicator, rabbi of the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood of Bnei Brak and expert on medical halachic issues. He is a member of Degel HaTorah’s Council of Torah Sages.
[1] leaf paper 21×30 cm. Fold mark, fine condition.