A rosh kollel of a large kollel in Yerushalayim brought the yungerleit to the Steipler Gaon zt'l to be tested 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 to 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 explain why the Steipler sees Shlomo on my forehead.
"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 warned me not to fundraise in his city. I answered that he doesn't own the town and that I would fundraise without his consent.
"It won't be worth your while," President Shlomo retorted, and he was right. Everyone feared President Shlomo, and when he warned the community members that they mustn't give me money, they all obeyed.
"I left in humiliation and went to another community. I met a person there 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 considerable 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 convinced his brother-in-law to cancel it. Heaven decreed that Shlomo must die, and you will take his years. This is why I see the name 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 doesn’t apply in our times, so I told you this story. The Steipler lived in our days and he was able to see what's written on the forehead. So, be aware that it is true even today. 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 can erase all the sins written on the forehead."
This story also demonstrates the severity of machlokes. President Shlomo's life was cut short because he engaged in machlokes. This story has other lessons. It reminds us that everything is for the good. Reb Yankel, the rosh kollel, was very upset when President Shlomo caused him financial loss, but these disappointments granted him life. Similarly, all situations we perceive as unfavorable are really for our good.
