Bargain-Basement Salvation – Part 1

For those of you who don’t yet know me, I am the Melitzer Rebbe’s rebbetzen (wife). My husband, apart from being a Rov and Posek (a recognized and ordained rabbinical authority) is also a Rebbe. There is a big difference between the two and one is usually either a Rov or a Rebbe; in this case my husband is both.

 

As a Rov, my husband answers halachic questions – whether something is kosher or not, allowed or not, or whether one can or can't do something – all the thousand and one questions that a Holy Nation has.

 

We are on 'call' from 7.45am through to midnight every day, right up to the candle-lighting time on Erev Shabbat, and again from moment Shabbat is over – fifty two weeks a year; that's for regular questions. For emergencies (and for people who have no concept of privacy) we are on call 24/7 – and that includes Shabbat and Yom Tov.

 

I never cease to be amazed at what a wonderful people Klal Yisroel (the Jewish people) are. The types of questions that come in show The Jewish people’s love of Hashem's mitzvot and wish to follow His instructions absolutely correctly – and their fear of doing the wrong thing; the Jewish people are exacting in their observance. Where can you find such a wonderful nation, that after two thousand years of exile and tribulations are still running after Hashem and clinging to Him? For that alone we deserve that Hashem bring Moshiach IMMEDIATELY!!

 

Especially the questions that come in before Pesach are eye-openers. You would think that our people's greatest enemy is being attacked and driven out of our homes, so zealous are people in their efforts to rid themselves of whatever might be considered chometz. And nothing gives us greater pleasure than to see how special and wonderful the Jewish people are.

 

As a Rebbe, people come to my husband for blessings, cures, and salvation which the Rov, with the power of his holiness is able to accomplish. The family has been told of many cases where through the Rov's blessings, critically or seriously ill people have been healed, difficult problems have been resolved, and people with troubled lives have been helped – and many other types of salvations. Although we get very upset at the Jewish people’s misfortunes, we at least take some comfort in that we are trying our utmost to help them.

 

The Rov's method of helping people is as follows: First the person in need of help gives tzedaka (charity money) to the Rov, which is then distributed amongst poor families; once this has been done the Rov prays for a yeshuoh (salvation). The two together, tzedaka and prayer are very potent weapons in Heaven, and very successful. The donation for charity that the Rov requests varies with each case, but where we see that people are in financial difficulties we ask for the minimum amount applicable in that case. What upsets me sometimes is that even as people are begging the Rov to help them they will try to bargain the Rov down on the 'price'. (I suppose they think that they're in the bargain basement of some store where they can haggle about the cost).

 

I also get upset when people take advantage of, or abuse the Rov's ability and willingness to help them, (which boruch Hashem doesn't happen too often). Usually people who have been helped are very grateful, but some don't seem to quite understand the concept of how one behaves towards the shaliach (messenger) of Hashem who has helped them in their time of need.

 

An incident that really stands out in my mind happened the day a lady shouted at me for ten minutes. This young lady, who has a genuinely troubled life had been to see the Rov many times, and each time the Rov had endeavored to help her with his tefillos. Boruch Hashem, the Rov has been very successful and many of the young woman's problems have either been eased or resolved completely.

 

The young lady, who had already seen great salvation from the Rov, (in one instance a child had recovered from a near-fatal coma after the Rov had prayed for her) had once again come to ask for help, and of course I let her into the house. She told me how grateful she was for all the Rov had done for her, and began to tell me her present problem. When I reminded her though that part of the salvation was to donate money to charity her whole demeanor changed. Her face grew red and she started shouting at me that I was always trying to extort money from her, and how could I do such a thing.

 

All my efforts to placate her by explaining that charity is a very important part of the salvation and that we don’t take the money for ourselves were to no avail, and she continued shouting at me that I was an extortionist. In the end she gave me the amount requested because, as she very bitterly told me, she had no choice but to agree to my unfair demands. I felt very sorry for her, but after a few more minutes I told her that perhaps she should go home and calm down and come back another time. She left my house still muttering about that Rebbetzen who was always trying to rob people of their money.

 

After she had gone (and I was left with a terrible feeling that I had torn money out of her against her will), I sat down to recover from that nasty experience over a cup of tea. As I calmed down (it took me quite a long time over quite a few cups of tea, the panacea for all [English] ills), I mulled over the whole episode and thought about this woman who had so little understanding of, and such a lack of gratitude for the great salvation that she was able to acquire without too much trouble or cost. How much would people be willing to pay if a doctor would promise to resuscitate their child or heal a critically ill person, or a specialist in a particular field save them from some other terrible misfortune?

 

Amid these thoughts my mind turned to myself, and I began to wonder if I myself was much better than this young lady; I too take for granted what Hashem has given me (amongst other things my health and family), and I also 'complain' to Him when I'm not satisfied. I felt more and more uncomfortable as I sat there placidly drinking my cup of tea (we won't say how many I had had up to then).

 

Upon further thought I resolved that the way to do teshuva for my shortcomings was to try and heighten my awareness of what Hashem has given – and continues to give me daily. I decided that the best way to really understand the extent of this is to try out what it meant not to have – in this case some of the bodily functions I take utterly for granted.

 

For this ''experiment'' as I called it, I chose to see how one copes without three things – sight, walking, and the flexibility of my hands to handle objects. I particularly chose these things because they have a tremendous impact on our daily lives and I was sure it would not be so easy to manage without. ('Not so easy' turned out to be a massive under-statement!)

 

The first part of the experiment was sight, so as I was sitting in the kitchen at the time, I started by blindfolding myself with a tea towel – but not before I had memorized where the milchige kitchen counter was situated in relation to where I was sitting – cheating before I even started.

 

As soon as my eyes were covered, and before I even attempted to stand up and walk, I was plunged into a world of darkness, and a feeling of vulnerability and defenseless against the world around me.

 

After thinking about the 'reality' of NEVER being able to see anything I got up from my chair and walked slowly and hesitantly to the milchige counter, all the while feeling with my feet whether there was an obstacle in the way, and with my hands outstretched in front of me to feel the counter.

 

Just as I felt the edge of the counter, I received a crashing blow to my head from an unseen open cupboard door above the counter (so that I received an instant 'crashing' headache). After calming down for a minute or two, I turned left towards the doorway of the kitchen, and walked slowly and carefully next to the counter and then the fridge, all the time feeling my way with my hands.

 

I knew that when the fridge ended I was at the open kitchen door so when I got there I tried to go through the doorway into the hall. As I had forgotten that I needed to take one step to the left to be in the centre of the doorway I ended up banging into the door. After maneuvering my way through the door I knew that if I turned left I would be able to walk down the corridor towards the rooms.

 

However, after my 'encounter' with the open cupboard door I was frightened of further obstacles above and below me and of falling and injuring myself seriously. I also felt disorientated because of my experience with the kitchen doorway – was I really in the centre of the hall?

 

I decided that I had had enough of this experiment (AFTER FOUR MINUTES, of which approximately two minutes had been spent overcoming that bang to my head!!!) so I removed my blindfold and lo and behold –

 

I WAS ABLE TO SEE!!!

  

To be continued.