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A chasid of Dinov suffered from a mortal lung disease and
traveled to the capital city of Vienna for medical advice. The doctors told him
that his disease could not be cured, because his lung was not in its normal
position; it was pushed to the side and was filled with phlegm which could not
be drained and would cause decay. They suggested that he hurry home, lest he die
among strangers.
The man started on his journey homeward with a broken heart. His
way passed through Sanz, and he thought to himself, "The Divrei Chaim
(Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz) is famous as a great scholar and authority on
Jewish Law. I shall ask him what I should do about the eating of maror,
the bitter vegetable, in the forthcoming Seder on Passover night. I
am unable to eat the required amount (the volume of an olive's bulk -
approximately an ounce). Am I however still required to eat a lesser portion and
should I pronounce a blessing over it?"
The Rebbe listened to his question. "It is written in the
Zohar," he replied, "that maror is a 'healing food.' You should be able
to eat the full prescribed amount and be healed."  | | " If my end is come,,...let me at least fulfill the mitzvah properly!..." | | |
This chasid was an accomplished Torah scholar in his own
right. After he left the Rebbe's presence he remembered that the Zohar does not
say that maror is a healing food, but rather, matza. The Divrei
Chaim had obviously made an error. And, with that thought, he dismissed the
incident from his mind.
On the night of the Seder when the moment for eating
maror arrived, the sick man took the tiniest portion of bitter herbs. He
immediately began to cough strenuously, weakening him greatly.
"If my end is come," he cried out, "let me at least fulfill the
mitzvah properly!" He took a full portion of the strong horseradish and ate it.
As soon as he swallowed the whole mouthful, the cough grew worse and his whole
body shook dreadfully.
His family became frightened and ran to fetch the doctor. But
the doctor was himself conducting a Seder and did not hasten to come.
When the doctor did arrive, he found the patient asleep. He was
told that the man had become exhausted from coughing, had fallen onto the bed
and dropped off into slumber. The doctor said that rest was good for him and
that he should not be awakened.
He slept until a late hour the following day and when the doctor
came again to examine him, he was amazed. The patient was completely cured. The
force of the cough and the shuddering of his body had jarred the lung, and it
had returned to its normal position. The phlegm had been able to drain out.
The maror had indeed been, as the Rebbe of Sanz had said,
a "healing food". [Adapted from Haggadah of the Chassidic
Masters by Rabbi Shalom Meir Wallach (Mesorah Publications). Based on
Divrei Yechezkel Shraga 143.]
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