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R’ אילצה of פוניבז׳ told his students that he had never been bested by anyone except for a wagon driver. Once, when he and others were traveling by wagon, the driver and all the passengers got off to pray מנחה. Rav אילצה was in the middle of עמידה when the wagon driver finished his תפילה and tended to the horses. Afterwards, the רב asked the driver “Are you a greater בקי than me in תפילה that you are able to pray so quickly?” The בעל עגלה responded: “I have great respect for the רב, but I think the answer is yes. You see, the רב surely was fluent in the סידור by the time he was five and afterwards learned חומש and גמרא. But me, I didn’t have much education. I kept studying nothing but the תפילה almost until my בר מצוה. So, who do you think is a greater בקי in the סידור?”

24/01/2020