Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz was once at a Bris Milah of a baby who was already orphaned from both of his parents. His father had passed away a few months before he was born, and his mother died in childbirth. At the ceremony, there was a tremendous amount of crying and wailing, which created a very sad atmosphere.
The Rebbe ordered that the crying should stop, saying that Bris Milah is a joyous Mitzva. Crying is therefore prohibited, and it will in no way help the unfortunate child.
Later, at the Seudas Mitzva, the Rebbe asked that they sing the entire Chapter 119 in Tehillim (a very long chapter in the order of the Aleph Beis). Afterwards the Rebbe explained his request by telling the following story.
Whenever a very difficult question arose to Rebbe Yaakov Yitzchak of Pshischa, known as the Yid Hakadosh (the Holy Jew), he would concentrate very deeply, often steeped in his thoughts for a long time, until the answer came to him. Once, when one of these questions came up, one of his students, a young man who was an orphan from his father, became very hungry, and decided to run home for a quick bite.
He quickly ran home and asked his mother for some food, reminding her that he was in the middle of his studies, and would have to return immediately. After preparing and serving the food, his mother asked him to bring down a package that she needed from the attic. Nervous about returning late, the young man told his mother he had to return right away. As he hurried back to the Beis Hamedrash, he realized that he had made a mistake, after all, isn't the study of Torah supposed to lead to fulfillment of its Mitzvos, and he had just missed an opportunity to honor his mother?
He quickly ran back, and asked his mother's forgiveness. She forgave him and he brought the package down from the attic, and quickly ran back again to the Beis Hamedrash.
