Don't Embarrass The Company

A certain gadol was mekarev Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach when he was a young man. He once related how pained he is that people don't come and talk to him in learning as they do to other gedolei yisroel.

Rav Shlomo Zalman suggested that the reason is that this gadol [who knew shas backwards and forwards] would quote gemara after gemara and would say to his guest וועלכער דף - which page? They sometimes didn't know and this caused them embarrassment. As a result, people didn't want to talk to him in learning.

Some time later Rav Shlomo Zalman came to this gadol who ran and hugged and kissed him. He related with excitement that he followed the sage advice and it worked. People came to him once again to talk in learning.

[מגד גבעות עולם עמ' נ"ט]