Weekly Chasidic Story #590 (s5769-25 / 21 Adar 5769)

Welcoming Shabbat Early

The other residents of the inn told us that it would be worth our while to stop at Radin to see the Chofetz Chaim.

(Connection: Weekly Torah Reading - verses about honoring Shabbat)

 

Welcoming Shabbat Early


Rabbi Simcha Kaplan of Tsfat (Safed)** related the following story:

When I was learning in the yeshiva in Mir, I lived with a couple who had only one son. One Friday, as I was leaving for the yeshiva, I saw the man of the house preparing to leave for the city's market place to transact some business. As the man was on his way out, I heard his wife say, "It's Friday, erev Shabbat; come home early!"

When I returned from the yeshiva that afternoon, I came upon the woman standing at the window, looking out for her husband's return. She kept repeating over and over in an anxious tone, "It's almost Shabbat, it is almost Shabbat…"

Surprised, I exclaimed, "But there is still plenty of time. Shabbat won't be here for hours."

Hesitantly, she replied, "Let me tell you a little about our life, and you will understand my worry.

"For many years after we were married," she continued, "we were childless. Then, Baruch HaShem, praise G-d, after years of suffering, we were finally blessed with a son. But to our sorrow, he was not developing properly. We suffered a great deal as we struggled to find out what was wrong with our son. The city's physician told us that the child had a defect in his heart. He advised us to travel to Vilna, to a prestigious doctor who lived there.

"After examining the boy and performing various tests, the great doctor told us that our son would not survive more than a few years. There is no medicine for his illness,' the doctor said. 'Go home, and make peace with this reality.'

"Shattered and brokenhearted, we left the doctor's home. Our stumbling footsteps brought us to an inn, where I burst into bitter tears and could not be consoled. The other residents of the inn heard out trouble and told us that on the way home to Mir, it would be worth our while to stop at Radin, home of the Chofetz Chaim. 'Go to him,' they advised, 'and you will surely be helped.'

"We traveled immediately to Radin, only to lose hope once again as we learned that the Chofetz Chaim was very weak and unable to see anyone. As we stood there, dispirited, Heaven helped us: We met a young man, a husband of one of the Chofetz Chaim's grand-daughters. This man had studied at the Mirer Yeshiva and had lived for a time at our house. Here was a clear case of 'Cast your bread upon the waters, for most days you will find it.'

"He took us into his grandfather's room. The Chofetz Chaim was sitting in his chair, a Torah book in his hand. We sat down and related the story of our son's illness. The Chofetz Chaim asked, 'How can I help? I have no money; how else can I be of help to you?'

"I burst into inconsolable tears as I related my story. His grandson added, 'And this is an only child!'

"In a warm voice, the Chofetz Chaim said to me, 'My daughter, undertake to greet the Shabbat Queen early.' When I asked what he meant, he replied, 'By noon on Friday, let the Shabbat tablecloth be spread on the table, the candlesticks arranged on it, and from when you light candles do not do any work, come what may.'

"As the words left the Chofetz Chaim's mouth, the resolution formed in my heart to follow his instructions to the letter.

"As soon as we returned to Mir, we saw an improvement in our son. Little by little, he began to eat. He started to develop and look like other boys his age. We visited our doctor and he was astonished by what he saw. Unable to conceal his amazement, he asked us to return to Vilna, and even financed the trip to the doctor in Vilna.

"Upon our arrival in Vilna, the doctor examined our son once again. "'Are you trying to pull a fast one on me?' he demanded. This is a different child; not the one I examined just a short time ago!'

"We told him: 'He is our only child.'

"The doctor asked, 'Have you been to Vienna?' (Vienna was then a world-class center of medicine.)

"'No,' we answered.

"Then where?"

"'We went to the Chofetz Chaim,' we told him, 'and he gave us his advice…'

"The doctor was very moved, and he said, 'We physicians have the power to fix what exists. We see a defective heart, we try to repair it. But the Chofetz Chaim is able to heal without any material to work with!' He shook his head, and added to the parents, 'Now I can tell you that your son's heart was completely deteriorated. It was essentially gone.'

The good woman of the house concluded softly, "From that day to this, we complete all of our Shabbat preparations very early. That is why I'm worried about my husband's lateness in returning home."

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[Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from "Stories my Grandfather told me" (Mesorah) by Zev Greenwald]

Connection: Weekly Torah Reading - opening verses about honoring Shabbat

Biographic Notes:
Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen Kagan (1838-24 Elul 1933), popularly known as the Chofetz Chaim after the title of one of his many influential books, was one of the most important and beloved rabbinical scholars and leaders of the 20th century. His other works include Mishna Berura, an authoritative, almost universally accepted compendium of Jewish Law, and Shmiras HaLashon, about proper and improper speech.

** Rabbi Avraham-Simcha Kaplan was the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Tsfat from 1948-1988.


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Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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