By Yoni Schwartz
He heard a faint squeak as he opened the old-fashioned door. The first thing that caught his mind about the room was how many seforim there were inside. Yaakov (not real name) had come to Rav Elazar Shach, ZT”L, for advice about which job to take. He had been offered a teaching position at two different institutions and asked for the Rav’s opinion on which one to choose.
In an audible yet gentle voice, Rav Shach said, “Come back in a few days. I need some time to think about it.”
A few days later, he heard, “Ring, ring.” He answered the phone and was surprised by who was on the other line. The voice sounded slightly excited and very curious. One of the two institutions called to ask, “What is your connection to Rav Shach?!”
Rav Elazar Shach
A bit confused he responded with a slight stutter, “Ah...ah...ah...I’m sorry. What?”
They repeated the question.
He responded, “I’m not extremely close to him. I had simply asked the Rav for guidance on which job to take. How did you know I spoke with him?”
They told him, “Did you know he rode the bus for almost an hour to come here in person and check out our place?” It turned out that Rav Shach had taken the time out of his overwhelmingly tight schedule to go down to each facility to see which was best.
A few days later, he returned to Rav Shach, who told him which job he thought he should take, which happened to be the place that had recently called him. Afterwards, he asked the Rav, “Why did the Rav travel so far to check out each place? I didn’t mean for him to shlep.”
Rav Shach’s response was touching yet powerful: “A Jew asks me for advice, and I shouldn’t do everything to ensure he gets the best guidance possible?!”
Reprinted from the Parshas Shelach 5785 email of Torah Sweets.
