Army service

The Bolshevik Revolution was in full swing, and Kanievsky was conscripted into the Tsarist army. In spite of the harsh conditions, he continued to strictly observe all the mitzvos.

Once, during his stint, Kanievsky was court-martialled for "failing to do his duty" when there was a possibility of breaking the Sabbath. He was forced to walk between two rows of soldiers who were ordered to beat him as he passed. In later years, Kanievsky remarked that the satisfaction he had enjoyed for making a stand for his religious convictions was an achievement never again equaled for the rest of his life; earlier, he had insisted on wearing a summer uniform in winter, since there was a problem of shatnez.^[3]

The Land of Israel

Rabbi Kanievsky is notable for having never left Israel for even a brief visit abroad since his arrival.

In 1934, at the urging of his brother-in-law, the Chazon Ish,^[10] he left Poland and moved to Israel, settling in Bnei Brak,^[11] where his brother-in-law, Rabbi Karelitz, had already been living for about eight months. Immediately upon his arrival, he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Beis Yosef - Novardok in Bnei brak (the first Yeshiva Gedolah in Bnei Brak, and one of the oldest yeshivas in the new settlement in the 20th century). For many years, he was head of two yeshivas there. Rabbi Kanievsky referred to the Chazon Ish as his "rabbi and mentor", who, in his final years, lived with the Kanievsky family, where Rebbetzin Miriam ran the communal household. Alongside Rabbi Elazar Shach, Rabbi Kanievsky was considered the spiritual leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community. Though known as a world-class scholar, he shunned publicity, and lived in humble surroundings, teaching, writing, and devoting himself to Torah and good deeds. He was one of the presidents of Kollel Chazon Ish, and a member of the Asra Kadisha organization.

The Steipler was high-level hearing-impaired, and therefore, those who turned to him would write their question or request, and he would reply and bless them after reading the script. In his last decades, after the Beit Yosef Yeshiva was closed, he performed a yearly shiur at the Kollel Chazon Ish on the death anniversary of the Chazon Ish, with the participation of a large public.

He died on Friday night, 23rd of Menachem Av, 5745 (1985), with over 150,000 mourners attending his funeral.^[12] He was buried in the Shomrei Shabbos cemetery in Bnei Brak, near the tomb of the Chazon Ish. His son, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky (1928-2022), following in his father's path, was a world-renowned Haredi rabbinical authority. He also has a daughter who currently lives in Bnei Brak.

A memorial plaque for Rabbi Ya'akov Kanievski on Rashbam Street in Bnei Brak