Rabbi Sherer replied, “As you know, when I was a student at Mesivta Torah Vodaath, I had the great privilege of serving as an assistant of sorts to the gaon and tzaddik Rav Elchonon Wasserman when he visited America in 1938. I first met Rav Elchonon when I reported to his room one morning at the Broadway Central Hotel. I greeted the tzaddik with a “Shalom Aleichem” and then we headed for the elevator to go downstairs.
“As we waited for the elevator, Rav Elchonon turned to me and asked, ‘Vi azoi zogt men ‘Gut morgen’ oif Einglish?’ (How does one say ‘Gut morgen’ in English?) I replied, ‘Very much like we say it in Yiddish — ‘Good morning.’
“R’ Elchonon then paced back and forth and practiced saying ‘Good morning.’ The elevator arrived, and as we entered it, Rav Elchonon wished the gentile elevator attendant, ‘Good morning.’ He then turned to me and asked, ‘Hob ich gut gezokt?’ (‘Did I say it well?’)
“And so,” concluded Rabbi Sherer, “I learned from Rav Elchonon that saying ‘Good morning’ to everyone is something that a Jew should do.”
Reprinted from the Parshas Va’eira 5784 edition of At the ArtScroll Shabbos Table. Excerpted from the ArtScroll book – “The Gift of Speech” by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman.
