One early morning in Jerusalem, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ZT”L left his home in Shaarei Chessed and boarded an Egged bus, likely the number 9 or 15 line, on his way to the Yeshiva in Rechavia. The driver, distracted by something going on outside, waved him onto the bus absentmindedly and did not notice that Rav Shlomo Zalman had not paid his bus fare yet. Rav Shlomo Zalman tried to hand him the fare, but the driver motioned for him to just walk on and sit down.
Rav Shlomo Zalman refused to sit down. Instead, he stood by the driver for the entire ride, repeatedly trying to hand the driver the money. However, the driver insisted that it was not necessary.
When the bus reached Rav Shlomo Zalman’s stop in Rechavia, instead of getting off, he told the driver, "I insist on paying the bus fare. This fare belongs to the Egged bus company, not to you. You do not have the authority to waive it." The driver shrugged and still waved him off.
Undeterred, Rav Shlomo Zalman rode the bus all the way to the old Central Bus Station on Jaffa Road in the city center, walked into the Egged office and stood in line to pay the single fare that he owed.
From the Central Bus Station, it was nearly a mile back to his Yeshiva in Rechavia, a journey he now had to make on foot or by taking another bus. For Rav Shlomo Zalman, the additional time and effort were insignificant when compared to the reassurance he felt from meeting his responsibility to pay the bus fare that he owed.
