Welcome to the Daily Holy Story. The following story occurred about 35 years ago in Panama, when the two great rabbis, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Ben Tzion Abba Shaul, were visiting that country. In the morning, when they were praying Shacharit (morning prayer), Rabbi Ben Tzion put on his Rashi tefillin (phylacteries), but did not put on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin together with the Rashi tefillin, as he normally does. His son, Rabbi Eliyahu, questioned him: “Daddy, you always put the two tefillin on together. How come you’re only putting on one tefillin?” Rabbi Ben Tzion sat his son, Rabbi Eliyahu, down and told him, “Let me explain to you. I have derech eretz (proper manners) because we are in front of Hacham Ovadia. Hacham Ovadia holds that you should not put on two tefillins together at the same time, but that you must put them on separately: first Rashi, and then Rabbeinu Tam, without Rashi. And although Rabbi Ovadia agrees that if the two tefillins are small, you can wear them together, nevertheless, I will not go against his minhag, which is not to wear two tefillins together.” This showed the son of Hacham Ben Tzion the kavod (honor) that one Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) had for another.
A similar story happened hundreds of years ago between the two great rabbis, Rabbi Akiva Eiger and Rabbi Yaakov mi-Lissa, on their trip to Warsaw, Poland, where they attended a rabbinical convention. The two great rabbis sat in the wagon, discussing Torah with each other. The Jews of Warsaw came out to greet them, and they took them in a royal chariot with big horses attached to it. When Rabbi Akiva Eiger saw that there were people pushing the wagon, he said to himself, “Why is there so much honor being given us? It must be because of my friend Rabbi Yaakov mi-Lissa.” Immediately, Rabbi Akiva Eiger got off the wagon and started pushing it himself together with the other people. In the meantime, Rabbi Yaakov was left on the wagon by himself, not even noticing that Rabbi Akiva Eiger had gotten off the wagon. When he noticed that there were people pushing the wagon, he said, “Why are they doing this? It must be that they’re doing it for Rabbi Akiva Eiger.” So he got off the wagon and started pushing. And they both pushed and pushed. They gave honor to one another, not realizing that each one had gotten off the wagon for the other. Thank you for listening, and have a lovely, lovely day.