He was so open and spoke at great length, seemingly effortlessly. He would tell us about incidents that happened to him and then teach us the lesson to be learned. Once he told us about a Jew who had come to him from the farthest reaches of Poland for a brochoh. This man had a son whom he wanted to see grow up to be a good Jew, a ben Torah. 'That is a wonderful thing, a truly wonderful thing,' responded the Chofetz Chaim. 'And what did you do in order to realize this desire of yours?' 'That's exactly why I came, to ask for a brochoh,' the Jew answered. The Chofetz Chaim was annoyed. 'What?! You think that with a brochoh you can create a ben yeshiva? Don't you know, that these days you must be moser nefesh?! Chinuch today demands mesirus nefesh! Not brochos. With brochos you won't get anywhere!' "
