When I was fourteen there was very little money at home and I thought I’d help; I’d apply for a job in a factory. So I went downtown to a factory that needed a worker. When I came to the place, just that moment a man went out of the factory and took down the ‘Boys Wanted’ sign. No more boys were wanted, so I couldn’t get the job.
Now, had I succeeded I would have left the yeshivah. It was the greatest good fortune for me when that sign was taken down because I had to go back to the yeshivah. Baruch Hashem, I kept on going to the yeshivah. I wouldn’t be sitting here tonight if I had gained that job.
A different time, when I was fifteen, I thought I'd be an artist maybe. I used to draw pictures all the time and people admired my illustrations – they told me I could be a real artist – so I went downtown to the Institute of Art to see if I could register. When I got there I found out that you have to go on Shabbos too. I was so disappointed. Baruch Hashem!
When I was twenty one, I thought, “I’m not a public speaker. I’m a bashful boy; I’m not the type to talk to people in public. I won’t be able to get a rabbanus. What should I do?”
I decided I’ll try to become a public school teacher. An einfal! I’ll teach in the public school. So I went to the Board of Education and I applied.
The man sitting at the desk said, “What are you doing now?”
“I’m a rabbinical student,” I said.
He said “Go back to your business; go back.” A goy told me to go back and I listened to him. A malach min haShamayim.
