One of the chasidim of Rabbi Shnuer Zalman
of Chabad suddenly fell ill while sailing down the Dnieper River on a
business trip. He decided to leave the ship at the next port, Shklov, and seek
medical attention.
He went to a well-known doctor who answered him in
grave tones, "I'm afraid you have contacted a rare disease for which, as of yet,
no cure has been found. I suggest you return home immediately."
The chasid, however, decided to go see his
Rebbe before going home. "If my days are numbered, at least I will have seen the
Rebbe before I die," he thought, and set out for Liozna.
"Rubbish! You are only suffering
from malaria!"
When he related the doctor's words to the Rebbe, he
was surprised to hear the Rebbe's reaction, "Rubbish! You are only suffering
from malaria!"
"But Rebbe," the chassid protested, "one of the
symptoms of malaria is recurring shivers and chills, neither of which I have."
"Nu, so you will shiver!" the Rebbe said.
No sooner had the Rebbe uttered those words when the
chasid began trembling, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
He was treated in Liozna and remained there until he
fully recovered. Once he regained his strength, he set out back home, passing
through Shklov to see the doctor whom he had previously consulted.
"How could you have frightened me so, telling me that
I had some incurable disease? You see, thank G-d, all I had was a case of
malaria and I am now alive and well."
"Indeed," replied the doctor, "you had malaria.
However, there are two variants of this disease. One is a serious, but
uncomplicated illness characterized by chills and shivers for which treatment is
available. The other, more severe case is typified by a gradual loss of energy.
For this, there is no cure. You most certainly had the more severe type of
malaria. I am amazed at your recovery. What happened?"
The chasid told the doctor of his visit to his
Rebbe. "The only explanation I have," the doctor responded, "is that your
Rebbe’s blessing transformed the disease from one type to the other."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Connection to the Weekly Torah reading: The plagues
Connection to this week: 24 Tevet (this Thursday) is the yahrzeit of the Rebbe in the story]
Adapted and supplemented from "From My Father's Shabbos Table" (pp. 84-85), Eliyahu
Touger's excellent selection and translation from the first two volumes of Rabbi
Yehuda Chitrik's 4-volume series, Reshimat Devorim.
Biographical note:
Rabbi Shneur Zalman [18 Elul 1745 - 24 Tevet
1812], one of the main disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, is the
founder of the Chabad-Chassidic movement. He is the author of Shulchan
Aruch HaRav and Tanya as well as many other major works in both
Jewish law and the mystical teachings.
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