The Face at the Bimah
A witness described how the Maharil's face blazed with awe as he recited the blessing over the Torah.
A story ofRav Moshe Yehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin of Briskהרב משה יהושע יהודה לייב בן בנימין דיסקיןProfile ›
Rav Yosef Chaim Scheinberger described an occasion on which he watched the Maharil Diskin when he was called up to the Torah. Nothing was unusual about the setting: an ordinary aliyah, in front of the ordinary congregation, with an ordinary blessing to say.
But when the Maharil began birkas haTorah, the witness saw a man on fire. The Rav was so aflame with awe that his face seemed to burn like a pillar of fire. The witness thought that this must be how people looked who stood in the Beis HaMikdash on Yom Kippur and watched the Kohen Gadol pronounce the holy Name.
The Rav's whole being was present in every word. The strength of his concentration was so great that the veins and sinews of his face stood out. Those who saw it did not forget it, and the memory stayed vivid in the mind of the one who described it, who said that the impression lasted half a year.
To the Maharil there were no small blessings. The very act of saying thanks to Hashem for giving us the Torah was an encounter with the Giver Himself, and he met it with all that he had.
Source: Maasei Tzaddikim, p. 216
Most of us say hundreds of brachos on autopilot. Choose one blessing today and say it as if you were hearing it for the first time. It might be the one before learning, or the one after a meal. Pause for a breath before you begin, think about Who you are addressing, and say the words slowly. You will not look like the Maharil, and you do not need to. A single moment of real presence is a beautiful way to begin.