One day, just before Mincha, the Alter of Slabodka ran into Shul, and without missing a beat or stopping for a moment he ran straight for the Amud to be Chazan. This really shocking scene was followed by an even more peculiar one. As he started saying Kaddish he stuttered, swallowed and jumbled the words.
After Mincha, everyone tried to figure out what exactly it was all about. Slowly the story was pieced together and the righteousness of the Alter was revealed. A gentleman in the town became a mourner, and due to his poor reading skills, when he went to the Amud he read the words with great difficulty and was terribly embarrassed.
The Alter showed him that even he can have trouble before the Amud sometimes due to nervousness. In this way, the Alter embarrassed himself to alleviate the pain of another.
