Parshas Mishpatim 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Feb 19
- 3 min read
אם יקום והתהלך בחוץ על משענתו ונקה המכה רק שבתו יתן ורפא ירפא ... (כא-יט)
The following story took place just a few years ago and demonstrates the power of Emunah and Chessed, over the power of doctors and medicine. A dynamic yungerman lives in Lakewood today and learns in a number of kollelim throughout the day. For a few years, he was asked to deliver a shiur once a week to a small group of men in Brunswick, New Jersey, and he developed a warm bond with many of the shiur’s participants. He encouraged them to draw closer to Torah and mitzvos and not only was he successful with many of the families, they trusted him and would often speak to him to gain Torah wisdom and advice. Unfortunately, when Covid-19 broke out in early 2020, and the world as we knew it shut down for all intents and purposes, the weekly shiur was neglected and the maggid shiur stopped driving out to the small community where he gave it. Some of the participants stayed in touch but many did not.
Over nine months later, the yungerman stopped by a local sofer and happened to run into one of his former Brunswick shiur participants. They hadn’t seen each other for close to a year and the reunion was sincere and heartfelt.
“What brings you to Lakewood?” asked the maggid shiur, and the man’s face instantly turned from a smile into a frown. He explained that just a few weeks ago, he had experienced unusual symptoms and when he went to the doctor for a checkup, the doctor confirmed that a huge cancerous mass was lodged in his brain and the prognosis was dire. The doctor gave him a maximum of six months to live and the man had gone home to his family crestfallen. He had so much to live for and was not prepared to die. He remembered that if a person is undergoing tribulations in his life, he should check his mezuzos and hopefully that might alleviate his problems. This is why he was currently at the sofer in Lakewood.
The maggid shiur had tears in his eyes; he could feel the man’s pain. Suddenly, he stood up straight and said, “My friend, never give up! Let us go to a big Tzaddik and get a beracha. My rebbi, R’ Yitzchok Sorotzkin shlita, lives here in Lakewood and I want you to talk to him. He will give you chizuk and a blessing that all will be okay.” The man was eager to comply and right then and there, they got into the maggid shiur’s car and drove to the home of Rav Sorotzkin.
Fortunately, R’ Yitzchok was home and he received the visitors graciously. The talmid explained the situation in great detail and the rebbi listened quietly, stroking his long beard. Then, he looked at the man and asked him, “Tell me, what do you do for a living?” The man replied that he is a dentist. R’ Yitzchok narrowed his eyes and asked, “As a dentist, do you work only to get paid and make money, or do you use your talents and abilities to help others, to do chessed?”
The man paused for a moment and then replied, “I actually do a lot of pro-bono work to help people in the community. Of course, I have to make a living, but I always look out to help others in need, whether dental or otherwise.”
R’ Yitzchok smiled and asked, “I have one more question. Do you pray in a shul that tolerates talking during davening or is it a synagogue that is quiet? What about you? Do you talk during davening or do you remain silent?”
The man nodded his head and assured Rav Sorotzkin that his synagogue is actually quite makpid not to talk during davening, and he is as well. R’ Yitzchok closed his eyes and recited the words of Tanna Dvei Eliyahu found in the Gemara (Bava Kama 85a): 'ורפא ירפא, מכאן שניתנה רשות לרופא לרפאות' - ‘From here [we learn] that permission is granted to the doctor to heal.’” Then, he opened his eyes and announced, “The doctors have no right to kill you! Don’t believe what they say! My friend, you are not sick and you are not going to live for only six months! Don’t believe what they say!”
The very next day, the man went back to his doctor for a scheduled appointment and they took another series of scans. The doctors were shocked when the results came in: there was nothing there, no mass, no cancer, just an infection that would need to be treated. It took six months of further treatment but Boruch Hashem today, this man is alive and well. A valuable lesson was learned: doctors have permission from the Ultimate Doctor to heal - but not to kill!