Emuna Daily

A close talmid once observed Reb Shlomo Freifeld putting on his tefillin.  After winding the tefillin shel yad around his arm, he stopped and closed his eyes, lost in thought.  Only after a lengthy period of reflection did he continue with the tefillin shel rosh.

Later on, the talmid asked him why he had delayed placing the tefillin on his head.

Reb Shlomo related the story of the gemara in Brachos, in which one Amorah asked another one why he was smiling.  “Ana tefillin kamanichna, I am putting on tefillin” was the reply.

Explained Reb Shlomo, “The act of putting on tefillin should fill the heart with joy.  Today, I didn’t feel it, so I paused to reflect  upon what was preventing me from feeling happy, and only once I felt the simcha shel mitzvah did I continue.”  ~ The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld zt”l

Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Lubchanski once tried to influence a certain student for many months.  Although he spent much time with the boy, his efforts were of no avail.  The boy just would not yield.  As Rav Yisroel Yaakov put it, “It came to the point where I discovered an indifference within me toward that boy.  I simply rejected him.”

Then one day a thought dawned upon him: “G-d did not bless me with any children.  But suppose that boy were mine.  I would not ignore him.  Then why do I reject him now? Because he belongs to someone else?”

As Rabbi Lubchanski later related the incident, he became overwhelmed with a love for the boy at that moment.  His previous indifference turned to love.  He began to work with him anew, and eventually the boy grew up to be an outstanding leader. ~ R’ Zelig Pliskin