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son of an American Jew was approaching Bar Mitzvah age, and his father
decided to bestow his son with a wonderful present. He told his
son that before his bar mitzvah, they would travel together to Eretz
Yisrael to the Beis Medrash of the Gaon, Rav Shmuel Vosner, the Shevet
Levi. There, the Gaon would lay his tefillin for the first time.
The
man’s son was very excited about this opportunity, and prepared for
the trip. His father told him that that Rav Vosner had told him
to call him a few days before they left America in order to confirm
the meeting. Meanwhile, the father purchased the airplane tickets.
A
week before the flight the father called Rav Vosner, and to his astonishment,
the Shevet Levi said to him, “I decided that it’s not worthwhile
for you to travel to me to Bnei Brak.”
The
shocked father said, “What happened all of a sudden? My son
has been looking forward and preparing for the trip for a long time!”
Rav
Vosner explained, “It’s true that there’s an inyan that the first
time that a boy lays tefillin, it should be done by a Rav, but have
you thought how many unsavory sights the boy is bound to see on the
long trip from America? Is it worth it?”
The
father tried to explain to Rav Vosner that his son would be extremely
disappointed if the trip was canceled, but all his explanations and
pleading did not help. Rav Vosner said, “Nothing in the world
is worth the damage incurred if your son sees forbidden things.”
The father then asked, “And what will I do with the two tickets that
I bought for two thousand dollars?”
Rav Vosner answered, “Go
buy a large frame, and put the two tickets inside it. On the top
of the frame, write in clear letters, ‘We sacrificed these two tickets
which cost two thousand dollars in order that our dear son should not
see forbidden things!”
(Barchi Nafshi)
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