reading about Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l

I find Auerbach’s determination to learn and his adherence to a strict schedule very admirable. Anyone who can hold to a strict schedule for learning is to be admired greatly in my opinion.

There is one very touching story so far in the book so far that I feel compelled to put down so I might review it later and perhaps remember it well. R’Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was consulted by parents regarding their retarded child. The parents presented to him their tow options for sending the child away. E asked them if they had consulted the child. They said no and the child would not understand. He was greatly upset by this. He demanded the child be brought to him. He told the child that he was a gadol hador and that he would like the little boy to represent him in the new special school and look after all of the religious matters in the new home. The rav continued to speak and told him that he will give him smicha which makes him a rabbi and that he wanted the child to use this honor wisely.. the rav stroked the child’s cheek and told him he now had a responsibility to his fellows. The story brought tears to my eyes. I care very much when people honor another person’s dignity and help to lift them up above themselves. It's one of the most beautiful things I know about the human condition.

Another story which really touches me very much is when a woman who had once been married before was becoming frum came to ask a sheilah about covering her hair at work. She felt that she had made so many changes to her life and for herself that she couldn’t bear to also cover her hair at work, because of the huge source of difficulty and embarrassment this would cause her. The rav shlomo zalman auerbach ruled that for this woman.. since her embarrassment would be so extreme he said to another rabbi who argued in favor of requiring her to wear a sheitel “You do not know, nor do you have any way of knowing, how this woman would feel with a wig –which she considers a source of embarrassment—on her head.” This sensitivity to the woman’s feelings is also impressive. I am so touched when a person shows sensitivity to another person’s feelings.