1488 (5786-39) 30 Sivan 5786 (June 15, 2026) (This Week)

"An Identical Condition"

He agreed for the rabbi to write to the Rebbe on his behalf, but insisted that he add a few words of his own at the end. These were: “Rebbe! My pains are unbearable! Please pray that I should die quickly and painlessly.”

Why This Week? Wednesday night - Thursday, Tammuz 3, is the 32nd yahrzeit of The Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Story in PDF format for more convenient printing

An Identical Condition

In honor of the 32nd yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe of our generation:
May all the seeds he planted continue to grow and to flourish,
and may they have their intended effect.

He agreed for the rabbi to write to the Rebbe on his behalf, but insisted that he add a few words of his own at the end. These were: "Rebbe! My pains are unbearable! Please pray that I should die quickly and painlessly."

Mr. Segal stepped outside for his regular evening walk. Since he had left the hospital after his heart attack, this was his only daily physical exercise. On his way, he met an old friend, Rabbi Shlomo Greenwald, an elder Lubavitcher Chasid in Eretz Yisrael.

They began to talk. Mr. Segal was very depressed by his medical situation, and did not believe he would ever really recover from it. Rabbi Greenwald tried to cheer him up and give him hope, but to no avail. Seeing that his words were having no effect, Rabbi Greenwald recommended to Mr. Segal that he write a letter to the Rebbe.

Mr. Segal was an observant Jew, and had great respect for the Rebbe's greatness in Torah and his activities on behalf of Judaism and the Jewish people around the world. But writing to him about his health issues?

"Why should I write to the Rebbe all of a sudden", he asked. "when I was healthy and everything was fine I never wrote to him, and now when things aren't going well for me I should write to him all of a sudden? Anyway, how can the Rebbe actually help me with medical problems?"

Rabbi Greenwald tried to convince him, mentioning mutual friends and acquaintances that had been helped by the Rebbe's advice and Berachos, but Mr. Segal remained resolute in his refusal. Rabbi Greenwald then gave it on last try "what if I write to the Rebbe about your situation and ask for his blessing on your behalf?"

This offer Mr. Segal couldn't refuse. He agreed for Rabbi Greenwald to write to the Rebbe, but told him that he wishes to add a few words of his own at the end of the letter.

Rabbi Greenwald wrote the letter and gave it to Mr. Segal, who wrote these few words at the end: "Rebbe! My pains are unbearable! Please pray for me that I should die quickly and painlessly."

The letter was mailed overseas, and after three weeks a response from the Rebbe arrived. The Rebbe had handwritten under his 'plea' 3 words: "Bedikas mezuzos b'bayis" -- "Check the mezuzos at home."

The immediate impact of the Rebbe's answer was profound: "I went over to the mezuzah and removed the nail attaching it to the door. As I removed the nail, I felt as if a nail had been removed from my heart as well!"

He gave the mezuzah to Rabbi Elimelech Kaplan, the Rav of Shikun Chabad in Lod, to check. The Rav opened the mezuzah, examined it carefully, and looked up at Mr. Segal.

The Rav again looked down at the mezuzah, and then looked up at Mr. Segal once more. "My dear friend", he said, "you and your mezuzah suit each other perfectly: you both have the same illness, a severe heart condition".

Mr. Segal was confused; e thought the Rav was joking with him. How could a mezuzah have heart problems?

The Rav showed him the mezuzah and explained: "See here, in the verse, 'Ve'ahavta et Hashem Elokeicha becol levavcha...' The word levavcha, "your heart" is completely erased".

The Rav immediately provided him with a new, kosher mezuza tp replace the one on his front door, and more mezuzahs for the other doors in his house. Mr. Segal hurried home to put them up.

When he woke up the next morning, he got dressed and told his wife that he's feeling well, and so he is going to shul for Shachris (Morning Prayers) and then off to work.

"What?" his wife exclaimed, "You have a serious heart condition! If you exert yourself like this, you'll find yourself back in the hospital. Who knows what will be then!"

The story of the unkosher mezuzah didn't convince his worried wife;, she insisted that her husband needs to go to a doctor for an immediate checkup, expecting that to disprove his claims.

When the doctor saw a healthy looking Mr. Segal enter his office, he was puzzled. This was a patient that usually showed up when he was experiencing serious problems!

The doctor listened to Mr. Segal's story extraordinary story. He reacted with skepticism, and initially objected to doing scans that he thought were unnecessary. But after the couple begged him to do the scans so that they can achieve some clarity, he acceded.

An hour later, the doctor received the results of the tests. He studied the papers in front of him, looked up at Mr. Segal, looked back down at the papers, and looked back at Mr. Segal disbelievingly. The doctor's strange conduct reminded Mr. Segal of the way the Rav had looked at him and his mezuzah.

The doctor then began to read out the results: "Your first tests three months ago showed that your situation was very severe. But todays tests show conclusively that your heart is now completely healthy. It's as if you have been born anew!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: From the English translation of Yahalom Shel HaRebbe ("Diamonds of the Lubavitcher Rebbe"), story #20, in the name of Rabbi Binyomin Klein, z'l, one of the Rebbe's secretaries.

Why This Week? Wednesday night - Thursday, 3 Tammuz, is the yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe of our generation.

Biographical note:
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe ztz"l: [11 Nissan 5662 - 3 TAMMUZ 5754 (April 1902 - June 1994)], became the 7th Rebbe of the Chabad dynasty after his father-in-law's passing on 10 Shvat 5710 (1950). He is widely acknowledged as the greatest Jewish leader of the second half of the 20th century. Although a dominant scholar in both the revealed and hidden aspects of Torah and fluent in many languages and scientific subjects, the Rebbe is best known for his extraordinary love and concern for every Jew on the planet. His emissaries around the globe dedicated to strengthening Judaism number in the thousands. Hundreds of volumes of his teachings have been printed, as well as dozens of English renditions.

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.

To receive the Story by e-mail every Wednesday--sign up here!

"Festivals of the Full Moon"
("Under the Full Moon" vol 2 - holiday stories)
is now available for purchase from ASCENT
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *