Are You Present In Life ?

Reb Moshe Sherer once walked into a shiva house, calmly took off his coat, hung it up in the closet, sat down, and said, "I'm welcome you not in this home." Then just as calmly he got up, put his coat back on, and walked out. And someone watching this ran after him and said, "Reb Moshe, why do you even bother to take off your coat?" >> [clears throat] >> He looked at the man and he said, "I'm sure you know that I'm a very busy man. But when I'm there, I'm there, fully, not half out the door. There." This is a lesson for all of us. How many times do we daven with our coats on or run into a bar mitzvah with our coats on to say mazel tov, half in, half out, because we've got somewhere else to go? How often are we physically somewhere but mentally somewhere else? Let's settle ourselves. Be where you are. Take off your coat.