 From 1907 until 1910 the Mashgiach ruchani was Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz who later joined the Mir Yeshiva.After the outbreak of war between Germany and Russia in 1914, the Chofetz Chaim worried about the potential German occupation and the effect it would have on the yeshiva.There was also the threat of the town becoming severed from Russia and thus stemming its source of funding.