The Shlah (Korach, Derech Chaim Tochachas Mussar, 26) writes, "From the story of Korach's dispute, we can learn mussar to avoid machlokes. Think about the severe punishment that came to Korach… Dasan and Aviram also died, together with their infants, although the court in heaven doesn't punish people below twenty (Shabbos 89:). But this time, even children perished. Such is the severity of machlokes (Tanchuma, Korach 3). Let us learn from this always to embrace peace."
A rosh kollel of a large kollel in Yerushalayim brought the kollel yungerleit to the Steipler Gaon zt'l, for the Steipler to test them on the sugya they were learning. When their Torah discussion concluded, and the kollel yungerleit were leaving, the Steipler asked the rosh kollel to stay behind because he wanted to speak with him.
The Steipler asked the rosh kollel for his name. The rosh kollel wrote his name on a piece of paper and showed it to the Steipler (the Steipler was hard of hearing).
The Steipler asked again, "What is your name?"
He wrote his name a second time. "My name is Yankel."
"Your name is Yankel? Why do I see Shlomo written on your forehead?"
The confused rosh kollel replied, "I don't know why the Steipler sees Shlomo on my forehead. However, I just remembered a story, and perhaps it will somehow explain why the Steipler sees Shlomo on my forehead."
This is the story:
"Some years ago, I arrived at a community in chutz l'aretz to collect funds for the kollel. My first meeting was with the president of the community, a wealthy man whom everyone called President Shlomo. Unfortunately, I have a loose tongue and said something that angered the president. He demanded that I leave the community and not fundraise there at all. I answered that I would fundraise and that I didn’t need his consent.
"It won't be worth your while," President Shlomo retorted, and he was right. President Shlomo warned the community not to give me any money, and they all obeyed.
"I left in humiliation and went to another community. Over there, I met a person who loved to support Torah. He gave me a check for five hundred dollars. (This story occurred fifty years ago when five hundred dollars was a huge sum.)
"The problem was that this kind man was President Shlomo's brother-in-law, and President Shlomo somehow found out that his brother-in-law gave me five hundred dollars. He told his brother-in-law to stop the check, and he did so. Then something dreadful occurred. The moment he stopped the check, President Shlomo died!"
The rosh kollel concluded, "I don't know if this story has anything to do with why the Steipler sees Shlomo on my forehead, but since I just remembered the story, I repeated it."
"The story explains everything," the Steipler said. "It explains why Shlomo is written on your forehead."
The Steipler explained, "You were destined to die on this trip. Your quota of years was over. But then President Shlomo humiliated you and caused others not to help you. Even after you had a check in your hands, he told his brother-in-law to cancel the check. Heaven decreed that Shlomo must die, and you will take his years. This is the reason I see Shlomo on your forehead. You are now living President Shlomo's years."
I heard this story from Reb Eliezer Zusya Stern Shlita, who heard it on the day of his chuppah from his grandfather, the previous Skulener Rebbe zt'l, who heard it from the rosh kollel. The Skulener Rebbe told Reb Eliezer Zusya Stern, "I will tell you why I am telling you this story now, on the day of your chuppah: The Arizal teaches that all one's aveiros and all one's mitzvos are written on the forehead. Perhaps you thought this didn’t apply in our times, so I told you this story. The Steipler lived recently to our days, and he was able to see what's written on the forehead. So, be aware that it is true. All your mitzvos and chas v'shalom, the opposite, are written on the forehead. Tonight, when you are under the chuppah, if you cry, rub those tears on your forehead because it is written in sefarim that tears erase all the sins written on the face."
We tell this story here because it demonstrates the severity of machlokes. President Shlomo's life ended because he engaged in machlokes.
Before World War Two, there was a massive machlokes between two Chasidic courts in a city in Romania. Each kehillah had its own shochet, with each claiming that the meat of the other shochet was treif. A bitter machlokes broke out, lasting for two years, until the Nazis came, r'l, and the city was destroyed.
A righteous Jew, Reb Yitzchak Wertzberger zt'l, lived in this city but refused to participate in the machlokes. He ate from both shechitos because both shochtim were yirei Hashem. He told himself he would leave the town the day he became involved in the machlokes.