My son has proven that his is truly my child.
He had a test earlier this week, and he did not know the answers to two of the questions. So, he simply wrote, “I don’t know.” When he received his test back and saw that they were marked "incorrect," he went to his rebbe, trying to hold his smile, and said, “But Rebbe! ‘I don’t know IS the correct answer! I DON’T know the answer to the question!!” His rebbe liked the attempt, but didn’t give in.
At least he tried….
“Impetuous as water, you will not exceed” (Bereishis 49:4)
Once an older single woman came to Rav Shach for advice. She was dating a man who, so far, met her approval. However, on their second date, he voiced an opinion on a matter a little too strongly for her taste. She was worried that perhaps this was a bad sign of what was to be, and was considering breaking it off.
Rav Shach listened to her story and replied, “You’re a hundred percent right! This very well may not be your destined one. Nevertheless, I want you to do me a personal favor. Today is Thursday. Don’t turn him down until after Shabbos.”
Seeing that Rav Shach understood where she was coming from, she agreed to his terms. That Shabbos afternoon, she met Rebbetzin Shach and made mention that she has given the matter more thought and decided to continue to date this person and “double-check.” She met the man again, and shortly afterward, they were engaged.
Many times in life, we have an urge to act on our instincts, which in turn, gets us in trouble.
My boss told me once that he has his email set up so it does not send out the email for 3 or 4 minutes after his presses the "send" button. He figures that there might be some times when he doesn’t think before writing and wanted the opportunity to catch himself before making a problem for himself.
Before making any big, or sometimes even small, decisions, one must think it over, ask for guidance, and wait a little bit for everything to sink in. When one is patient with his thoughts, the chances of his doing something damaging greatly diminishes.
Have a great Shabbos!
Michael Winner