The Boy Who Waited

One day a boy came to Reb Aryeh at noon with a question. Reb Aryeh was occupied and told him to wait. Hours passed, and Reb Aryeh, having forgotten, never came.

That night, when he reached home, Reb Aryeh remembered the boy and what he had told him. He could find no peace. “Who knows what pain the boy felt,” he said, “because I did not come to him?” He gave himself no rest until he went out to find the boy and hear what he had wanted to say.

People were surprised to see the elderly mashgiach walking through a neighborhood, asking where a certain boy lived. Only later did they learn the reason.