There is a beautiful story about Rav Shach that we heard from Rabbi Matisyahu Deutsch, the Rav of Ramat Shlomo, in Eretz Yisrael.
All his life, Rav Shach did kaparot using money (others do it with chickens).
One year, his student, Rabbi Dovid Frankel, brazenly decided to offer Rav Shach to do kaparot with chickens.
It was Erev Yom Kippur, at three or 4 o’clock in the morning and the lights were on in Rav Shach’s house. Rav Frankel knocked on the door with a chicken in hand, and told the rabbi he wanted to do kaparot with him. Rav Shach agreed and asked Rabbi Frankel what to do, as he’d never done kaparot with a chicken before. Rav Frankel showed him how to put it around his head three times and read from the Machzor.
When Rav Shach asked what was next, Rav Frankel took him to the shochet to slaughter the chicken. Rav Shach asked again, what to do next, and his student showed him to do kissoy hadam/ throwing dirt on the blood… When the rabbi asked what was next, he said they would go give the meat to a poor family… After they finally finished the whole process, it was 4:30am, and they went back to Rav Shach’s apartment, Rav Shach said, “Thank you very much. But do me a favor. Next year, I think I am going to do it with money.”
Rabbi Matisyahu Deutsch asked us what we would have done if someone knocked on our door at 3am, when we were learning, asking us to do kaparot with a chicken when we’ve done it all our lives with money. We’d slam the door in his face right then and there. But Rav Shach had the patience to go through the process, step-by-step, and go along with the man the whole way. He said that is the sign of the Gedolim. Gedolim have patience. They don’t get easily upset or angry with people who nag or nudge them. There are many stories of great rabbis who have patience for all kinds of things, and it all goes back to the Gemara’s famous story of Hillel. Two people had a bet about whether they could get Hillel upset. The Gemara asks, “Who is humble like Hillel?”
Rabbi Ades says that we see from that Gemara that when people get upset from those that nag them, or otherwise, it inherently comes from a certain level of arrogance, from feeling a certain level of importance and that this person is bothering them. Sometimes, if a great or very important man asks you for something, it doesn’t bother you. You are very happy to do it. But when someone on a lower level than you ask for things, that’s when you start getting upset. Our great rabbis, as great as they are, have the trait of humility. That is why they don’t get angry easily. In the days of Sefirat HaOmer, our rabbis say that humility is one of the key things to work on.
How do you know if you have humility or not? We have the answer here. See what your level of patience is, for the nudniks in your life.
Have a wonderful day.