The Letter
By Rabbi Yechiel Spero
Dov was a brilliant boy, excelling in every aspect of his schooling. His rebbeim and teachers did their utmost to challenge him, but he far surpassed the rest of the students in his class. Growing up in England, it wasn’t always easy for the young man. He’d lost his father, Reb Asher, at a young age, and he worked hard to bring Yiddishe nachas to his mother.
He knew how much she cared and how badly she wanted him to succeed, how she did her utmost to hire the best melamdim so that Dov could maximize his vast potential. It showed. Dov was always at the top of his class in every subject, both in limudei kodesh and limudei chol.
One day, the school announced a mathematics competition, with the participation of students from all over the area. Feeling up for the challenge, Dov entered the contest. In his teens at the time, Dov’s brilliance and prowess in mathematics blew away the competition.
An Astonishing Display of Mathematical Genius
Question after question, problem after problem, equation after equation, Dov provided the answers in rapid-fire succession. As the rounds went by and more and more contestants were eliminated, the level of the questions increased in difficulty, but Dov managed to answer them almost as soon as they left the questioner’s mouth. It was an astonishing display.
Everyone present was awed by the young boy’s prodigiousness. By the time it was over, Dov was crowned the undisputed math champion of the entire region; he was the talk of the town. But it went far beyond the town. The entire country was abuzz over Dov’s astounding knowledge and sharpness. It didn’t take long for letters to begin arriving in the mail.
Many of the English secondary schools fawned over the prodigy. Hoping to lure him to their schools, each one offered him a full scholarship. Landing such a big fish would lend prominence to their schools and attract other bright children. None of them caught the attention of Dov’s mother; she was simply not interested in their offers.
Then one day, the doorbell rang. Standing in the doorway was an official courier holding a letter. This letter stood out. The courier handed the letter, encased in an elegant envelope and embossed with a gold stamp, to Dov’s mother, who wondered about its contents.
Sir Winston Churchill
She opened it up and began to read. Dear Dov, On behalf of our entire country, I wish to congratulate you on your outstanding achievement. It is really quite an accomplishment. No doubt, your brilliance will lead you to much success in your endeavors. As such, it gives me great pride to offer you a full-fledged scholarship to the most prestigious university in the entire land, Oxford; I know you will be successful there.
It is my fervent hope, wish, and prayer that you continue to bring great pride to your country and hopefully, one day, you will grow up to become prime minister of England! Sir Winston Churchill Yes, the Winston Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain!
The Mother’s Strange Reaction
At this point, most mothers would have called together the family, read the letter to all who were interested, and then folded it up and put it away in a safe place for posterity. Not Dov’s mother. She didn’t hesitate for a moment — and she did what no other mother would have done. Though she committed the letter to memory, she did not want to have it in the house. So, she promptly tore the letter into many pieces and discarded it. It would never be seen by another set of eyes.
She knew what she was doing. Many years later, after her Dov grew up to become Rav Dov Sternbuch, a talmid chacham who purportedly knew Shas by heart, he shared this amazing story, adding one important point.
“Why Did You Tear It Up and Throw it Into the Fire?”
Many times, his mother was asked, “Why didn’t you save the letter? Why not hold onto it as a memento? Even if you didn’t want to hang it on the wall, you could have at least saved it in your attic. Why did you tear it up and throw it into the fire?”
To which she responded, “Do you think I could have raised my Dov to become what he did with a letter like that in my house?”
Mrs. Devorah Sternbuch knew the secret to greatness. Singular focus. Even the smallest distraction or temptation diminishes the untainted purity and sanctity of a child’s mind and heart.
Another son would become Rav Moshe Sternbuch, leader of the Badatz. Her daughters would also marry Torah giants; her sons-in-law include Rav Meshulem Dovid Soloveitchik, Rav Chanoch Ehrentreu, and Rav Chaim Yaakov Arieli. That’s what singular devotion to Torah can produce.
Reprinted from the Shavuos 5784 email of At the ArtScroll Shabbos Table. Excerpted from the ArtScroll book --
