Now, I picked just one person. But it applies to all of the roshei yeshivah; get close to them. They don’t have time to talk to you, but if you become useful to them in some way, you’re meshamesh talmidei chachomim, hang around, after a while, maybe you’ll be zocheh. And baruch Hashem we have them today – not as many as we had twenty years ago, not as many as forty years ago, but still we do have them. Only that most people don’t understand how important it is to get physically close to them.
Even when we had really great men, only a few people came to them. When Rav Aharon Kotler, zichrono livracha, was alive, how many Jews, baalei batim or even bnei Torah came to see him personally? He was a busy man, no question, but why didn’t you come to see him? Just to walk to his house or to his beis medrash; even if you wouldn’t speak to him, just the walking meant that you were walking towards the mizbeach.
Now, if you could find a way to speak a few words with him, even better. To ask him for advice, a derech in life? Absolutely! A few words from a great man would set you straight if you would be willing to listen. But even if you didn’t speak to him, just to be close to him is already a perfection of the neshama. And when Rav Aharon passed away, the generation lost that opportunity forever.
