Rav Yosef Zimbal, a rav in West Gate, Lakewood, once shared a story of an interaction he had with Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky at a wedding.
Before the chuppah, Rabbi Zimbal had a lengthy conversation with the rosh yeshivah, yet after the chuppah was over, when Rav Shmuel passed him again, he greeted Rabbi Zimbal effusively as if he were seeing him for the first time. Rabbi Zimbal respectfully pointed out that they had already spoken.
“I know that, of course,” Rav Shmuel replied, “but there are many more people here now who did not see us talking earlier. I wouldn’t have wanted all of them to think that I simply walked by without greeting you.”
There is much we can learn from the example of Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky, one of the greatest Torah luminaries of our time, who excels in striking the balance between the mitzvos of bein adam laMakom and bein adam lachaveiro.
The only way to accomplish our ultimate goal of being mekadesh Shem Shamayim is to pursue both aspects of the Torah with equal zeal, recognizing that the Torah is a single, all-inclusive package deal.
Reproduced from A Life Worth Living by Rabbi Shraga Freedman with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
