It is told that once upon a time in Eastern Europe there was a Jewish couple that had a son who made them worry. He had no interest in studying the scriptures, preferring to go outside and play, and somehow he often got into mischief. The little boy’s name was Mordechai.

Then the couple heard that a famous, well-respected Rabbi was coming to their village, and they thought they could ask his advice. They went to him, and explained their concerns about Mordechai, and the Rabbi simply said, in a rather rough way, “Yes, all right, I’ll talk to him. Bring him to me, and I’ll straighten him out.”

Soon, the parents brought Mordechai to the private room where the Rabbi was staying. When the parents had left, the Rabbi sat on the couch, and gently called the boy to him. He held out his arms and motioned for him to come nearer. And then he took him in his arms and held him against his heart for a long time.

Then they went out together, and the Rabbi said sternly to the parents, “Yes, we talked and I told him how to behave.”

And after that, the boy’s behaviour did change, and he later became a serious and respected teacher of the Law, from whom a whole lineage of students descended. And Reb Mordechai always told his students that his first teacher had taught him the Torah from his heart.