The son of an American Jew was approaching bar mitzvah age, and his father decided to bestow his son with a wonderful present. He told his son that before his bar mitzvah, they would travel together to Eretz Yisroel to the bais medrash of the senior posek, Rav Shmuel Wosner shlit”a, the Baal Shevet Halevi, in Bnei Brak. There, Rav Wosner would lay his tefillin for the first time.
The man’s son was very excited about this opportunity and prepared for the trip. His father told him that Rav Wosner had told him to call him a few days before they left America in order to confirm the meeting. Meanwhile, the father purchased the airplane tickets.
A week before the flight, the father called Rav Wosner, and to his astonishment, Rav Wosner said to him, “I decided that it’s not worthwhile for you to travel to me to Bnei Brak.”
The shocked father said, “What happened all of a sudden? My son has been looking forward and preparing for the trip for a long time!”
Rav Wosner explained: “It’s true that there’s an inyan that the first time that a boy lays tefillin, it should be done by a rov, but have you thought how many unsavory sights the boy is bound to see on the long trip from America? Is it worth it?”
The father tried to explain to Rav Wosner that his son would be extremely disappointed if the trip was canceled, but all his explanations and pleading did not help. Rav Wosner said, “Nothing in the world is worth the damage incurred if your son sees forbidden things.”
