Why is the Rav’s Watch on his Right Hand? | Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu Zt"l | Beit Midrash

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Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu

קטגוריה משנית

Everyone knows that a watch is worn on the left hand, so that it’s easy to adjust it with the right hand. But the Rav Mordechai Eliyahu would always wear his watch on his right hand. Once, I asked him why he did that, and he answered me, "So as to not to insult people! Sometimes, you’re speaking in public and somebody looks at his watch. What do you think? That your speech isn’t interesting him – even though he might well be looking at his watch for another reason entirely. Sometimes looking at your watch is liable to insult someone who’s talking to you, as he’s likely to think that you’re waiting for him to stop talking."
And so the Rav would wear his watch on his right hand, with the face turned inwards towards his body. That way he could look at his watch without insulting the person who was talking to him, not even slightly.

The Rav also said that doing so gave him an extra minute every day, when he would normally have to move the watch from left to right hand before prayers, when it was time to put on tefillin. Even such a short time could add up to a long time over a long period, and he could employ that time to do more important things.
(Rabbi Mordechai Nagari, Rabbi of Maale Adomim)

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu