Adapted from: Aleinu L’shabei’ach by Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein written by Rabbi Moshe Zoren

מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב — How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov (Bamidbar 24:5)

Rav Aharon Kotler managed to accomplish something that many other gedolei Torah did not manage to do: establish a vibrant yeshivah on the spiritually parched soil of America that would eventually become a magnet for tens of thousands of young scholars.

Much has been said about the gaon who established the glorious Lakewood Yeshivah, and many reasons have been given for his unique success. I wish to tell a story that demonstrates one of the reasons why he succeeded.

When the Lakewood Yeshivah began to grow in size and to develop a reputation as a superb makom Torah, larger facilities were required in order to house all of the students. The yeshivah’s administration had to construct an additional building, at an estimated cost of $100,000 which, 50 years ago, was a fortune.

To raise funds for the new building, the yeshivah held an elaborate dinner, which was attended by the greatest Jewish philanthropists in America. At the dais sat the Rosh Yeshivah, R’ Aharon Kotler, along with the members of the yeshivah’s board. In their speeches, the board members spoke about how the new building would contribute greatly to the flourishing of the Lakewood yeshivah and benefit American Jewry in general.

During the dinner, two great philanthropists suddenly stood up and declared that they were prepared to donate $75,000 to the building campaign, but with one condition: that another philanthropist sitting in the hall — and they gave his name — would also donate $5,000 toward the building.

When this man heard what had been said, he was incensed. “What right do you have to tell me what to do with my money?” he said angrily. “Is this how you are going to get money out of me: by forcing me to contribute?”

A short intermission was quickly announced, and as the guests at the dinner got up from their seats, the board members gathered to discuss what had just transpired. They all agreed that because donations of $75,000 were hardly an everyday occurrence, they had to do everything in their power to make sure the pledge materialized. The question was how to get the third philanthropist to agree to the condition of the first two.

The idea they came up with was as follows:

They would speak to the third philanthropist privately and tell him that there was no need for him to take $5,000 out of his own pocket. Instead, he could approach his friends and associates for donations, and since the Talmud teaches that a person who causes another person to do a mitzvah is greater than the one who actually does the mitzvah, it would be considered as though he himself had donated the entire $5,000. In that way, the condition of the two philanthropists would be fulfilled and the yeshivah would receive the promised $75,000 donation.

When R’ Aharon heard this suggestion, however, he categorically refused to have the matter handled in this way. He turned to the members of the board and said, “Torah is built only with truth. Anything that veers even slightly from the truth is not suited to the way of Torah, and will therefore not succeed. If the two philanthropists insist that their counterpart give $5,000, he has to take the money out of his pocket. We can’t fool the other two by having him raise money from his friends.”

R’ Aharon had spoken, so the plan was scrapped and the donation was forfeited. But the building was indeed constructed, and is now part of the massive Lakewood Yeshivah complex. R’ Aharon’s emes is what built the Lakewood Yeshivah, and it is that emes that formed the basis of its success.