Weekly Chasidic Story #746 (s5772-25 / 18
Adar 5772)
Choking on a Sin
The chasid took his leave of the Rebbe R. Elimelech of Lizhensk
in puzzlement-why did the rebbe choose to speak about milk and meat just as
he was departing?
Connection: Seasonal -- The yahrzeit of the Rebbe Elimelech
Choking on a Sin
Rabbi Baruch Neustadter, a well-known Talmudic scholar, was a follower of the
tzadik, Rabbi Elimelch of Lizhensk. He often traveled to Lizhensk
in order to spend Shabbat with the revered Rebbe.
One Saturday night, as Rabbi Baruch was bidding the rebbe farewell, the Rebbe
Elimelech said to him as follows: "Know that every mitzvah in the
Torah makes us holy. For instance, we are forbidden to eat meat that was cooked
together with milk. A Jew who keeps this mitzvah becomes pure to such
an extent that his organs cannot digest this combination. If milk and meat were
to enter his throat together, he would not be able to swallow, but would instantly
cough them up."
After these words and the rebbe's final blessing, R. Baruch took his leave.
But he was puzzled. Why, of all topics, did the rebbe choose to speak about
milk and meat just as he was departing? He pondered this for a while, but could
come up with no answer, so he let his mind turn to other matters as he journeyed
home.
A few weeks passed. R. Baruch was in the beit midrash [study hall] one
night, learning Torah. Suddenly one of his children burst into the shul. "Tatte,
come quickly!" the child exclaimed breathlessly, grabbing his father's
hand. "Mama was eating supper and a piece of meat got stuck in her throat!
She can't breathe! Hurry!"
The two ran out of the shul and hurried home. R. Baruch found his house
full of neighbors trying all sorts of remedies and tricks to save his wife.
The poor woman was lying on a bed, her face blue and her eyes popping, struggling
to breathe as she attempted to dislodge the meat that was obstructing her airway.
But nothing seemed to help. A doctor had been summoned as well, and he arrived
on the heels of R. Baruch, but he was no more successful than the rest in helping
the choking woman.
"If only I could ask the Rebbe in Lizhensk to pray for her!" R. Baruch
thought desperately. The Rebbe...Lizhensk
and then it struck him like lightning!
The rebbe's cryptic message during his last visit lit up his mind, and he knew
just what to do.
R. Baruch quickly prepared a glass of hot milk. Prying his wife's mouth open
wide, he poured some of the beverage inside. And just as he hoped would happen,
the moment the hot milk touched the meat that was stuck in her throat, his wife
began to cough and retch. It only took a moment for the meat to be dislodged.
The rebbe was right: the body of an observant Jew could not digest that which
is forbidden. Within a very short time his wife was breathing freely and was
completely recovered.
Rabbi Baruch hastened to Lizhensk to thank the rebbe for his advice. But the
Rebbe Elimelech only smiled
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from "Glimpses of Greatness"
by Rabbi David Koppelman [Moznaim].
Connection: Seasonal - 21 Adar is the yahrzeit of the Rebbe Elimelech.
Biographical note:
Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhinsk (1717 - 21 Adar 1787), was a major
disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch, successor to the Baal Shem Tov,
and the leading Rebbe of the subsequent generation in Poland-Galitzia. Most
of the great Chassidic dynasties stem from his disciples. His book, Noam
Elimelech, is one of the most popular of all Chassidic works.
~~~~~~~~~~~
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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