Rav Gurevitz, one of the senior rabbanim of the Ner Yisroel Yeshivah in Baltimore, related that he once traveled for a short rest to one of the kosher hotels in the distant city of Florida—having been invited there to deliver shiurei Torah in several of the city’s communities.
(By way of good-natured humor, he remarked during his stay that in Florida it is easy to “acquire yiras Shamayim”! He explained: since it is the habit of many Jews who come to vacation in Florida to cast off a bit of their yiras Shamayim... inevitably a great amount of yiras Shamayim remains lying around there!)
When he arrived at the entrance of the hotel, the hotel owner came out to greet him, took his suitcases from his hands, and welcomed him with honor and dignity, befitting one of the great roshei yeshivah.
On the way to the elegant room prepared for him, the hotel owner innocently asked the rosh yeshivah whether he should also refrain from preparing the bed for him—just as he had done for the previous rabbi who had stayed there.
“Which rabbi was here before me?” asked the rosh yeshivah.
“The Admor of Satmar was here,” answered the man, “and throughout his stay he did not lie on the bed at all, and we did not have to prepare bed linens for him!”
As is well known, his holy practice—due to his great righteousness and sanctity—was to doze when necessary upon his chair, and many times he would not enter a bed at all!
