A Light That Reveals the Soul
Rav Chaim explained, from a verse and the Zohar, how a Jew's soul shows itself in the way he learns and prays.
A preacher of seemingly European background came to Mogador and impressed the town with his sermons, and Rav Chaim alone kept a deliberate distance from him. Afterward, when the man was exposed on board ship as a gentile who had learned Jewish manners in a rabbi's home, the people asked how the Rav had known. He answered with the verse "For a mitzvah is a lamp, and Torah is light" (Mishlei 6:23), and with the Zohar's teaching that a Jewish soul is a candle: a flame flickers, and so a Jew sways when he learns and prays. The man had never once swayed. The Rav added that he had held back from saying so in order to teach the city a lesson in conduct. Torah may not be accepted from a stranger until he has been examined and found to be a God-fearing person.
Source: Shevach Chaim (as reported by Arutz Sheva, 2013); verse: Mishlei 6:23; the Zohar passage on swaying is cited there without a precise reference.
Before you accept advice or teaching from someone new, take a little time to learn who they are. This week, when a persuasive voice comes your way, in person or online, ask a trusted friend or a rav about them, and look at how they live as well as what they say. A good speaker is not the same as a good teacher. Your own learning will be safer, and you will also be able to receive true teachers with more confidence.