ABSTRACT
Not all significant rabbis of our time had dramatic life stories full of political activities, conflicts with other rabbinical authorities and dramas connected with the Second World War. Indeed, the lives of many rabbis stand out precisely because of their simplicity, modesty and original thinking. The fate of Rabbi Karelitz, who is far more commonly known by the name of his major work, Chazon Ish, 1 is an example of the latter tendency. Although he never held any important public or religious office, he became one of the most respected authorities of Orthodox Jews in the twentieth century.
