The Seudah Prepared for One Bochur

The Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva, Harav Yerucham Olshin, once invited two bochurim to join him for the Simchas Torah seudah, telling them to come at the end of the third hakafah.

One of the bochurim arrived at the proper time. The other, however, either never received the message clearly or misunderstood it, and only came much later, after hakafos had already ended, close to midnight.

When the late bochur knocked on the door, R’ Yerucham himself answered. Seeing the bochur standing there, he simply asked if the bochur could wait a few minutes outside while they finished setting up.

A short while later, the bochur was welcomed in and joined a beautiful Simchas Torah seudah together with the Rosh Yeshiva and his family, with no indication that anything had gone wrong.

Only the next day did the misunderstanding come to light. The first bochur asked the other bochur, “Where were you?” The bochur answered in surprise, “Where were you?” That was when they realized that one had come at the intended time, while the other had arrived only after hakafos.