Every berachah that Reb Yehuda Zev Segal zt”l recited was said with utmost concentration.  The Rosh Yeshivah kept cards in his pocket on which were written the various berachos for foods, so that he could always recite them from a text, for this would help him concentrate.  “Asher Yatzar,” too, was always said from a text. Every word of his davening was recited slowly and intensely, as if it were Nei’lah, the concluding tefillah of Yom Kippur.

It happened once that a certain visitor took the liberty of writing his name in the margin of the Rosh Yeshivah’s siddur next to the blessing of Atah Chonein so that the Rosh Yeshivah would have him in mind when beseeching Hashem for the gift of Torah wisdom.  Other talmidim took note of this and entered their names as well.  Time had passed and the visitor regretted what he had done and asked forgiveness of the Rosh Yeshivah.

The Rosh Yeshivah told him “Believe me, until this very moment, I was unaware that you had written your name in my siddur.  You see, when I daven, I do not permit my eyes to wander anywhere; I look only at the word that I am reciting.  I don’t see the margin of the page…”