by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com He was one of the greatest students of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik zt”l. And yet for the past 31 years his chiddushim were unavailable. Rav Shlomo Polyachek (December 21 1877 – July 8th, 1928) was known as the Meichitzer Ilui – the Genius of Meitchitz and his Torah has been studied in Yeshivos across the world.  But if you had the sefer you had it. If you didn’t, you couldn’t get it. You had to make do with photocopies.  Until now. Rav Polyachek was born in the village of Snicinjic near the town of Mołczadź in the Grodno region of the Tsarist Russian Empire – in the very heart of the Pale of Settlement. The Jews of the village actually belonged to the Mitchett Jewish community, hence its nickname. The Meitchitzer Ilui’s father owned the leases for both the local post office and the village tavern (as did many Jews make their living in the Pale of Settlement – most of the inns and bars were owned by yidden). SLONIM, NOVARDHIK, AND VOLOZHIN Rav Shlomo began his studies at Talmud Torah in the town at the age of 5, and soon moved to study at Slonim and then Novhardik nearest to grodno. At the age of 12, Rabbi Aharon Rabinowitz, the son-in-law of Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, brought the young Ilui to the Yeshiva of Volozhin. Despite his young age, he was accepted in Volozhin after an interview with Rav Chaim Soloveitchik. Rav Elchanan Wasserman HY”D testified that Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, the second Rosh Yeshiva in Volozhin, said of him: “I have never seen such a remarkable Ilui.” In 1852, after the Yeshiva of Volozhin was closed, the students and young men dispersed. Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, who was appointed rav of the city of Brisk, invited him to learn with him in his kloiz in Brisk. and he established his place of study at the Mishmar Kluis seminary in the city. After this, Rav Shlomo moved to Vilna – where a group of Talmidim studied with Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzanski. A YOUNG ROSH YESHIVA At the young age of 29, Rav Shlomo was invited to serve as Rosh Yeshiva at Rav Reines’ yeshiva in Lida, where he stayed for 9 years. Following the Russian Civil War, he left the city with his family for Bialystok, where he taught at the yeshiva that was there. After a year he was invited by the heads of the Yeshiva Yitzchak Elchanan in New York to teach there. This was before they had a college.  He taught there for about six years, until he passed away at the age of 51 Rabbi Politchek was married and the father of three daughters and two sons. THE SEFER His son-in-law, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Goldberg, compiled a collection of his shiurim.  These were called Chiddushei HaIlui MiMeitchitz and were printed in 1947.  It was reprinted a second time in 1974, a third in 1979, and a fourth in 1989.  It was unavailable until this year,  recently have just been reprinted in a fabulous new edition by Rabbi Yehudah Assaf the Maimonides Biblical Foundation in Brooklyn.  The new edition dedicated in memory of Rabbi Dovid Frost who was of the chashuvei ha’Avreichim of BMG of Lakewood.  The new edition has corrections, is beautifully […]
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