One of the people with a close tie to Rav Yosef Shalom Eliyashiv extended an invitation to him to attend the engagement of his daughter. The rav told him that he would not attend the engagement but hoped to participate in the wedding.

This fellow kept coming back to implore the rav to come to the engagement, and on the day of the engagement even increased the pressure. On that day the rav was ill with fever. Members of his household considered informing the father of the kallah that the rav was unable to attend the engagement because of his health. When they asked the rav for permission to do so he responded:

"Do not tell him this for it will make him think that it was my illness which prevented me from attending. The truth, however, is that I never intended to come and blaming my absence on my health would be a distortion of the truth."

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