Torah Stories: HaRav Meir Shapiro

This is a story about the Rav Meir Shapiro when he was a child. I found it on Revach and I just copied and pasted it on here. Thanks Revach. 

Rav Meir Shapiro's Mother Cries, "Meir’el, Meir’el"

The Gaon, Rav Meir Shapiro, z’tl, the Rav of Lublin once told a childhood story about his mother.  “When I was a boy, my family was forced to move several times from house to house.  We also moved from city to city.  The constant moving did not disturb my mother’s equilibrium; only one thing would bother her – my bittul Torah!”“On one occasion, as we were again preparing to move, my mother had an idea.  She contacted the melamed of the town to which we were moving, and arranged that he would meet me by the gate of the city.  He would then be able to learn with me immediately when we arrived at the town.” “When we finally reached our destination, we searched and searched, but the melamed was not there.  My mother sat down next to the wagon and cried for a long time.  I tried to calm her down by saying, ‘Mommy, Mommy, why are you crying, I’ll learn tomorrow!’” “My mother answered, ‘Meir’el, Meir’el, You don’t yet know how to appreciate the meaning of bittul Torah of one day!”  (Chayim Sheyash Bahem) A great story of how jewish parents saw importance in Talmud Torah. With this kind of childhood, it is no surprise that the Rav Shapiro INVENTED THE DAF YOMI. For those who are not familiar, it is a cyclical system which unites all jews all over the world in learning the same page of Talmud everyday. It finishes the whole Bavli in a little more than 7 years