Secrets of the Soul, Volume 2

Rav Yechezkel once asked the Chazon Ish why he wasted so much time answering questions about trivial matters. Since Klal Yisrael had such great need of the merit of his Torah study, why waste his time on such questions?The Chazon Ish explained that he only answered questions concerning shalom bayis, which is so important that Hashem’s Name is erased for it.“But you answer on a daily basis such questions as what kind of store to open, or on which floor to buy an apartment,” Rav Yechezkel protested.The Chazon Ish then explained.“Why would anyone come to me and open his heart about all his problems at home? It takes me a year or two of answering ordinary questions to make him feel heimish (comfortable) with me, and only then will he be willing to share with me his problems in shalom bayis. Only then can I help him.” Rav Shlomo Hoffman zt”l was a student of the Chevron Yeshiva seventy to eighty years ago. He was among those who established a close connection with Rav Isaac Sher zt”l, and