Three Tries at the Border

It is told that after the Steipler left the army, so many yeshiva students were stealing across the Russian border that it happened almost daily. Every crossing was a gamble with death.

When his group's turn came, a farmer was to take them across, and he divided the young men among the members of his family. Yaakov Yisroel was assigned to go with the farmer's daughter. Afraid of yichud (the prohibition of a man and woman being alone together), he fled from her and ran straight into the hands of the Russians. They put him in prison, but before long he escaped.

On his second try he needed to relieve himself. He could have held out until they were across, and the others would not wait for him. But he would not transgress bal teshaktzu (the prohibition against making oneself repulsive by holding back bodily needs), so he left the group and lost his chance.

On the third try, the time for Mincha came, and he would not let its zman pass. He went off to a quiet spot in the forest and davened, pouring out his heart to his Creator for a long time, unaware of anything around him. When he finished, the group was long gone. Lost, he wandered through the forest until he found himself beside a beis medrash. He asked where he was and was told: Slutzk, Poland. He had crossed the border.