Monday, March 30, 2009

Respecting Your Rebbi—On Pesach Too!

Once, a student of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l came to visit his rebbi at home on Pesach. When Rav Shlomo Zalman offered his visitor a glass of wine, the student refused. He said, “Our family’s minhag is never to eat at anyone’s house on Pesach.”
Rav Shlomo Zalman countered, “You have to admit, though, that you don’t make your own wine at home anymore the way it used to be done; you buy your wine from the store just as I do. So even if your family did follow this custom and were even makpid about something like wine, one should nevertheless act with discretion and derech eretz and not refuse a gesture of hospitality so bluntly. And all the more so, when you are my student and I am your rebbi—how could one possibly think that such behavior is proper?”

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

this is so important. there are people who get so consumed in following exactly the halachos that they unbelievably forget the most basic common decencies!!!!

for gosh sakes, yidden!!!!

remember the basics!!!!