Deviating from his usual custom, he quickly finished Krias Shema

Rav Dov Landau, the Slabodka rosh yeshivah, doesn’t often leave Bnei Brak. But in honor of a hachnassas sefer Torah given by a talmid who lives in the Afula suburb of Givat Hamoreh, the Rosh Yeshivah made the trip north, after which he visited the Yeshivah Gedolah of Afula, where he delivered a shmuess and davened Maariv.

The Rosh Yeshivah, known for his dikduk b'halachah, was slowly, meticulously saying Krias Shema when, not yet halfway through, he suddenly realized that the entire tzibbur was waiting for him. And so, deviating from his usual custom, he quickly finished Krias Shema, delivering his second shmuess of the night — and this one was about stringency, leniency, and respect for others.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 879)