The Steipler Gaon
As a bachur, the Steipler Gaon zt'l learned in the Novardok yeshiva. Once, when he was home, a neighbor asked him, "When are you returning to the Novardok yeshiva?" The Steipler replied that he planned to return the following day. The neighbor said, "I want to send a letter to my son (who also learned in Novardok). Can you take it to him?"
The First World War Broke Out
The Steipler took the sealed letter, but the First World War broke out, traveling was impossible, and he never returned to the yeshiva. Eight years later, the Steipler met with the person to whom the letter was written. "Your father sent this to you eight years ago, but due to the war, I couldn’t deliver it until now." The man took the letter with awe. It was after his father's death, and now he would receive a message from his father! He felt like he was receiving a hidden צוואה, an ethical will, written by his father for him.
“Buy Me the Delicious Herring”
The letter said, "When you come home from yeshiva, remember, and don’t forget to buy me the delicious herring that’s available in Novardok." That was all the letter said. The lesson: Never waste an opportunity. Had the father written a thought of Torah or yiras Shamayim, the message would have remained with his son forever. Every moment is an opportunity and a shame to waste.
Reprinted from the Parshas Nasso 5783 email of Torah Wellsprings: The Collected Torah Thoughts from Rabbi Elimelech Biderman.
