The late Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky was different from the greats of the Lithuanian generation who preceded him. Rabbi Shach was a charismatic leader, Rabbi Elyashiv Harif and a rationalist, and Rabbi Steinman a great educator.
His house that was about to fall in Bnei Brak was open for many years to those seeking advice and instruction, who relied on the fulfillment of the famous rabbi's blessing: "Blessing and success."
The influx of public from all ultra-Orthodox shades, including non-ultra-Orthodox public, has made his yard similar to that of a rebbe or a baba, and his figure one that enjoys sweeping admiration among the ultra-Orthodox public.
Thousands of participants in the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky in Bnei Brak // Photo: Shmuel Buharis
Rabbi Kanievsky was completely immersed in Torah study and masterfully answered the title "His Torah is his art."
The video, in which the rabbi denies the closure of the "Hyderabad" at the beginning of the Corona plague, testifies well to his distance from the vanities of this world.
This being as a tzaddik necessitated the creation of the courtyard that surrounded him under the direction of Yanki, the rabbi’s grandson.
The grandson influenced decision-making in the ultra-Orthodox public in every area: political, public or personal.
Precisely because these matters were far from the head of Rabbi Kanievsky, the grandson gained unprecedented power.
Rabbi Kanievsky's fame and the dominance of his court overshadowed the existence of a second "great generation" in the Lithuanian public, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein.
Rabbi Edelstein, who will soon be celebrating his 99th birthday, is set to be the exclusive "great of the generation" for most of the Lithuanian public.
Rabbi Gershon, one of the leaders of the glorifying Ponivez Yeshiva, is a scholar, rationalist and more connected to the beings of this world than Rabbi Kanievsky.
During the Corona period, he was careful to observe health regulations, and his approach to the State of Israel is also inclusive and not extreme.
But these characteristics are nuances, and should not be expected to lead to dramatic changes regarding the relationship between the ultra-Orthodox public and the State of Israel and the secular public.
Rabbi Edelstein, Photo: Shlomi Cohen
Rabbi Edelstein, like Rabbi Kanievsky, does not have the ability to lead the Lithuanian public in a dominant way as Rabbi Shach did at the time.
The growth and diversity of the ultra-Orthodox public - as well as the fact that the greats of the generation in recent years have entered their positions around the age of 90 - mean that their symbolic power remains intact, but their real influence is diminishing.
The expected trend is a further decentralization of this leadership.
As a result, the ability of ultra-Orthodox individuals in the Lithuanian sector to decide for themselves their fate is likely to increase, a change that may be more dramatic than the question of who will be the next "big generation."
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