About thirteen years ago, various kinds of grasshoppers were brought to the home of Maran Hagaon Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l on Rechov Rashbam in Bnei Brak by Rav Yitzchok Ratzabi to discuss halacha-related issues regarding grasshoppers. Amongst the issues discussed was the permissibility to eat grasshoppers and whether a mesorah can be relied upon.

At the time, Rav Chaim was asked about the famous story told about Rav Chaim: that a grasshopper landed on his table as he was studying that inyan.

Rav Chaim confirmed that the story was true, though, in his humility, he didn’t provide the background to the story.

The background is this:

Approximately 21 years ago, Rav Chaim was learning Maseches Chullin and a sugyah relating to chagovim, grasshoppers. Rav Chaim realized that he needed to see a grasshopper to better understand the Gemara – apparently he had never seen a live grasshopper before – and asked his daughter to bring him one. She tried, but reported to her father that she failed to find one.

Rav Chaim went back to the sugyah, and lo and behold, a grasshopper came hopping through the window, landing on his Gemara. After examining it, he let it go. As he continued through the sugyah, he realized that he needed to study the hind legs a bit more, but the grasshopper was long gone. Before closing his Gemara, a second grasshopper hopped in and on to his Gemara, giving him the ability to study its hind leg in detail.

That part of the story became rather famous.

And then there was a postscript:

About seven years after this story, a rov giving a shiur in Bnei Brak criticized the tales people tell about gedolim, explaining that the stories cannot all be true, and sound silly. As a case in point, he brought the maaseh of Rav Chaim and the grasshoppers, viewing it as ridiculous and leading people to the wrong conclusions regarding Rav Chaim, who, after all, learns Torah like everyone else. After the shiur, the maggid shiur went home and found his house infested with grasshoppers (in the same Bnei Brak that Rav Kanievsky’s daughter – seeking to fulfill the mitzvah of kibbud av – could not find one). He tried for three days to rid his home of the insects, but could not. Someone suggested that he go to Rav Chaim and ask for mechilah.

The rov approached Rav Chaim and told him what had happened. Rav Chaim laughed, saying that he did not need his mechilah at all, as the grasshoppers could have come to anybody (after all, the window was open!), and he was certainly mochel him if he needed it. The maggid went home – and the grasshoppers were gone!

The following are some other random details that Rav Chaim shared regarding the kashrus of grasshoppers:

-Rav Chaim was shown that a grasshopper has four feet, to which he responded that indeed the Torah says regarding the grasshoppers, “Lenater bam al haaaretz.”

-It was mentioned to Rav Chaim that Yemenites have a siman to identify a kosher grasshopper, in that they possess a Ches shape on their stomach. Rav Chaim responded that the poskim bring this very siman that there is a Ches on the stomach.

-Rav Chaim was questioned on the Teimani mesorah, saying that there is a machlokes haposkim as to whether we rely on their mesorah, but that there are indeed poskim who rely on that.

-The issue of why shechitah on a grasshopper is not needed was mentioned to Rav Chaim, as was the issue of baal teshaktzu and why there is no problem of this when eating a grasshopper. Rav Chaim responded that if the Torah permits the consumption of a grasshopper, then obviously there is no issue of baal tishaktzu.

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{Matzav.com Israel}