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day a renowned Av beis din from Tel Aviv came to the Chazon Ish,
confused. A few days earlier, he explained, his beis din had adminis-
tered a divorce for a religious person, at the request of the wife and
husband together, based on the fact that the husband was sterile. As
customary in such cases, the details of the divorce were kept secret by
the judge. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF
Following the divorce, a Jew approached the Av beis din and ex- THE INSTITUTE
plained that the divorced husband was now proposed as a match
for his relative, a young survivor of the Nazi Camps. He wanted to
know the reason for the divorce. The Av beis din was placed in a very
confusing situation. On the one hand, one does not reveal what is
said within the walls of a beis din. On the other hand, the halacha Our Institute is privileged to present the third volume of the halachic
rules that in the case of matchmaking, one has to reveal this type of a responsa of one of the greatest Torah instructors of the generation,
defect. What was he to do? Rav of the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood in Bnei Brak, Israel, Rav
The Chazon Ish instructed him to say as follows: I cannot reveal Yitzchak Zilberstein shlit”a. Rav Zilberstein, whose halachic rulings
the reason for the divorce, but if a similar match was proposed to one on many topics are renowned for their clarity and wisdom, has dedi-
of my daughters, I would not go along with it. cated much time and energy to researching and providing solutions to
The Av beis din answered exactly as the Chazon Ish had instructed medical challenges in the framework of halacha, and has been deliver-
him. Despite his answer, the shidduch was finalized. A day later, the ing shiurim to physicians on medical ethics for many years.
man who had inquired informed him that the couple was engaged,
and asked him to bless the divorced man and his new wife that they This volume is a translation of the first half of volume two of
should father a generation of righteous Jews. He blessed him as asked. Rav Zilberstein’s monumental five-volume Hebrew work Shiurei
Torah LeRofim. Its publication comes on the heels of the resound-
A while later, they met again, and the man joyfully informed him
that his blessing had born fruit. The couple was expecting a child! ing success of the previously translated “Medical Halachic Responsa
by Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein,” a compendium of varied responsa by
Stunned, the Av beis din went to see the Chazon Ish and told him the the author, first published in 2013 and then reprinted in 2015 due to
whole story. The Chazon Ish rejoiced for the couple, and then added:
See how much siyata dishmaya there was here. Had you revealed the demand, and the recent translation of the first two English volumes.
reason for the divorce, they would now be complaining that the beis Enthusiastic reviews of the first English books revealed that many
din does not properly arrange for divorces. Had you remained silent, families had adapted it as an intriguing and challenging addition to
your conscience would have endlessly bothered you for allowing the their Shabbos meals, where the discussion often revolves around a
match to go through. Now that you answered as you did, for that was particular question or passage read from the book, bringing much
what you were obligated to answer, nothing bad resulted. This teach- spiritual joy and unity to the table. This was pointed out to me by
es us that if one wishes to follow the righteous path, he is guarded one of the greatest Roshei Yeshiva in the United States, who praised
from on High that he does not stumble (heard from the person it Rav Zilberstein’s unique approach, and described the “sweetness”
happened to HaRav Shmuel Boruch Werner zt”l). that these responsa brought to his Shabbos table. I am certain that

14 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein 2 v

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