No Shortcuts: How Torah Leaders Lived with Honest Integrity

Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein, the Rabbi of Ramat Elchanan and a member of the Council of Torah Sages, shares a treasured collection of stories about the upright and careful behavior of great Torah leaders.

The Steipler Took the Long Way Home

“I once had the chance to see the Steipler walking on Rabbi Akiva Street on his way home,” begins Rabbi Zilberstein. “When he needed to cross over to another street, he didn’t take the shortcut through people’s courtyards. Instead, he lengthened his walk, going all the way around via the main road just to avoid stepping into someone’s private courtyard without permission.”

A resident once approached the Steipler and invited him to pass through the courtyard of his own building. But the Steipler gently explained that it wasn’t enough and he would need permission from all the residents, and until he had that, he simply couldn’t go through.

“Can you imagine?” Rabbi Zilberstein says with emotion. “The neighbors would have been thrilled to have that holy man walk through their courtyard and they would have paid a fortune just for the zechut (merit) of his presence sanctifying their space! And still, the ‘Kehilot Yaakov’, that’s what the Steipler’s Torah works are called, chose to follow every detail of Halacha (Jewish law) carefully, without compromise.”

“This is such a powerful example of how cautious a person must be not to transgress even the smallest form of theft,” Rabbi Zilberstein adds. “Even when others would say it’s allowed, someone who wants to fulfill Hashem’s will with a full heart will go the extra mile to clarify the law and avoid any wrongdoing.”

The Chafetz Chaim Refused to Enter His House

Rabbi Zilberstein continues with another remarkable story. This one about the Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen of Radin, known for his teachings on ethical speech and honesty.

“One day, the Chafetz Chaim came home from the yeshiva and saw that his family had built a step for him to make it easier to enter the house. But this step extended just a few centimeters into the street. He immediately stopped and said, ‘I won’t enter until you cut back the step so that there’s no suspicion of theft.’ And he stood there in the street until the step was fixed.”

Rabbi Zilberstein notes with awe, “This was the leader of Halacha for the entire Jewish people and he refused to benefit from even the tiniest suspected theft. And not even from fellow Jews, the land belonged to the Polish authorities at the time!”

“I’m Afraid of Visual Theft” – Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld

The story is told of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, the great Torah leader in the Old City of Jerusalem. When he would walk through the narrow alleyways of the city, he made a point to walk right in the center of the road, never near the houses or courtyards on the sides.

When asked why, he explained, “I’m afraid of gezel einayim, visual theft. If I walk too close to someone’s property, I might see something I’m not meant to, and that’s also a form of taking something that’s not mine.”

(Gezel einayim refers to “stealing with the eyes”, gaining visual benefit from private property, like peeking into someone’s courtyard or home.)

The Matchbox in the Cabinet

“And let’s go back to the Steipler,” says Rabbi Zilberstein. “Here’s another story that shows just how seriously he took every detail when it came to being honest and doing Hashem’s will.”

A Torah scholar from Bnei Brak once came to the Steipler for a blessing, and accidentally left his matchbox behind. The Steipler noticed and quickly ran after him but couldn’t catch up. Though he remembered what the man looked like, he didn’t know how to contact him.

So, the little matchbox sat in the room for a long time. The Steipler kept asking his family to look out and let him know if the man ever came back, he wanted to return the lost item and fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of hashavat aveidah (returning lost objects).

And then, one day, the man appeared at the door. The joy on the Steipler’s face was indescribable. He stood up with such happiness to return the matchbox, and his family said they hadn’t seen him that joyful in a long time. It was pure joy for the chance to fulfill Hashem’s will.

These warm, real-life stories shine a light on how our Torah giants lived, every action guided by love of Hashem, honesty, and care for others. Even the smallest choices became powerful moments of bringing honor to G-d in the world.

From ‘Tuvcha Yabiyu’, courtesy of the Dirshu website.