Our generation was privileged to have R' Chaim Kanievsky. Besides for his holy presence, we benefit greatly from the many sefarim that he wrote on a wide range of subjects. One of the more common sefarim of his is Shoneh Halachos, which was actually written by his devoted chavrusa, R' Elazar Tzadok Turtzin.
As a bachur, R' Elazar Tzadok learned in the Chevron Yeshiva, and he was very close to the Chazon Ish. Once when he was at the home of the Chazon Ish, the Chazon Ish told him, “Lazer, Lazer, do you really think that observant Yidden who, r”l, go off the derech all of a sudden take off their yarmulka? No! It happens gradually; it starts a little at a time, they stop this and then that, until eventually they take it off.”
R' Elazar Tzadok was totally bewildered. He thought, “Did the Chazon Ish see in me something that is straying from the right path? Why is he speaking to me about this? The Chazon Ish doesn’t say things for no reason!”
Broken and distraught, R' Elazar Tzadok left the Chazon Ish’s home. For the entire four-hour return trip back to his yeshiva, he was in a complete daze. “What was the Chazon Ish’s intent?”
When he finally arrived at the yeshiva, a close friend of his saw him unsettled, bothered, and disturbed. He asked R' Elazar Tzadok, “Lazer, what is bothering you? I see you’re not yourself. It seems that something is distressing you. How can I help you?”
R' Elazar Tzadok went on to explain what was bothering him and the strange words of the Chazon Ish. “So why did you leave without asking the Chazon Ish?” his friend asked. “You should have asked the Chazon Ish what he was intending. Head right back to the Chazon Ish’s home and ask him what he meant by what he said.”
R’ Elazar Tzadok took to his advice and made the four-hour return trip to B’nei Brak. When the Chazon Ish saw him, his face lit up. “Why did you run away so quickly? I was talking to you, and you left in the middle of our conversation.”
“I wasn’t sure what Rebbe saw in me that made him say that,” Lazer replied sobbingly. “I was so degraded that I just dashed to the door.”
“Chalilah,” said the Chazon Ish consolably. “That was not my intention. Don’t suspect that for a moment. I know that you’re a tzaddik, and that was not my intention at all. All I wanted to tell you was one thing:
“How does the day of a modest person look? He wakes up, he davens, then he says some Tehillim, and he asks Hashem that he should have a successful day in business. And then he leaves shul until Minchah. When he leaves shul, he also leaves Hashem in shul, and this repeats itself the next time he leaves. He davens, and then forgets about Hashem in the interim. And this repeats day in and day out.
“This is not the right way to live. We must take Hashem into our day-to-day living, thinking about Hashem, talking with Hashem, and that’s the way to live.
“Suppose someone needs a pair of shoes. There's a lot of siyata d’shmaya needed to get the right pair. One can talk to Hashem, asking that the right pair should come his way and that it should come easily. He should also daven that it should be of good quality and have a long life. Hashem wants us to turn to Him at any and every time of day.” (V’higadeta)
