Rav Henoch Leibowitz and the Student’s Tax Bill
He insisted a student pay full taxes on his wife’s off-the-books income and would not let him leave yeshiva early to earn the money, then quietly gave him a $500 check and refused to cash the repayment.
The rosh yeshiva demanded honesty from his talmidim as well, and he would constantly tell his talmidim that they should rather live an austere lifestyle than burden themselves with debt which would only cause severe problems down the road. One married student was in a situation where his wife’s employer refused to pay her on the books. The rosh yeshiva was adamant that full taxes must be paid on the income, regardless of the lack of integrity of the employer.
This talmid was faced with a rather burdensome tax bill of $2,000—which is significant even now, but was much more so back then. He told the rosh yeshiva that he didn’t have the funds to pay the IRS bill and didn’t want to borrow the money and fall into debt. The rosh yeshiva advised him of a specific opportunity he could undertake to earn some money, adding just one caveat—that the talmid should wait until bein ha’zemanim.
The talmid felt tremendous pressure from the looming tax bill and twice asked the rosh yeshiva if he could leave yeshiva before the semester ended. Twice the rosh yeshiva replied in the negative. Just when the talmid thought he would have no choice but to leave yeshiva regardless of the rosh yeshiva’s wishes, he was given a message that the rosh yeshiva wanted to speak to him.
He entered the rosh yeshiva’s office and saw that he had his checkbook open. The rosh yeshiva asked him if $500 would hold him over until bein ha’zemanim; the student answered in the affirmative and he accepted the check graciously. Years later, the student left yeshiva and earned his first paycheck. He gave the rosh yeshiva a check to repay part of the $500. At first the rosh yeshiva had no idea what it was for. (After it was explained to him, the rosh yeshiva still refused to cash it.)