The Story Behind Rav Aharon Leib’s Kever

Rav Mordechai Orlanchik of a chevra kaddisha of Bnei Brak told the Mevaser paper why Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l was interred near the end of the Netzivei Ponevezh Cemetery and not together with rabbonim of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, where he taught in the yeshiva ketanah and kollel.

Rav Orlanchik recalled that after the passing of the rebbetzin in 2002, Rav Aharon Leib asked specifically for the simplest location possible.

He also said that as with Ponevezh mashgiach Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, Rav Aharon Leib’s hands were clenched shut after his passing and not open wide, perhaps to hint that he was not included in Chazal’s dictum that a person is buried with open hands to indicate he is taking nothing with him.

He recalled that once, after he had washed Rav Aharon Leib’s hands after the gadol had visited his wife’s kever, he realized that the water he had used was unbearably hot from the sun. In order not to embarrass him, Rav Aharon Leib had given no indication of this.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}