Don’t Waste a Moment

The son of the famed Chofetz Chaim, of saintly memory, related that his mother seldom sought the services of a physician during the years that she raised her children. Whenever someone in the family became sick, the Chofetz Chaim instructed her to distribute forty pounds of bread to the poor, and he himself would pray for several hours in the attic. Shortly thereafter, the sick child would recover.

 

 

The Gemora teaches (Avoda Zara 55a), that "immediately before disease and suffering are cast upon a person, they are sworn to leave on a certain day, at a certain hour, and by a certain medicinal agent." A doctor cannot possibly cure a person unless he or she is the designated Heavenly messenger with the proper cure at the proper time. The doctor doesn’t cure – HaShem does. If he does claim that he cures, he’s none other than a witch doctor.

 

Whenever a person trusts doctors, HaShem allows him or her to fall into their hands. In many instances, the physicians themselves are the cause of death or of a patient’s deteriorating health. One is a thousand times better off in trusting HaShem rather than placing himself in danger with his own two hands.

 

Rebbe Mordechai of Lachovitz said: "Whenever doctors say that a situation is hopeless, and the patient places all his or her trust in HaShem, then the Gates of Salvation and Healing are opened…"

 

A sick person once consulted a well-known rabbi whether to consult a doctor or not. "Why go to the doctor – did he make you sick?" asked the rabbi. "HaShem made you sick, so go and ask Him for a cure! What’s more, HaShem decides your lifespan; the doctor can’t give you additional days, but HaShem can!"

 

A sick person that acts according to the three principles of emuna achieves a high score in emuna, as well as a speedy physical recovery and substantial spiritual gain.

 

On the other end of the scale, those who lack emuna become disheartened, depressed, and often add emotional suffering to their physical ills. Such people find physicians miserably disappointing. Even worse, they fail to correct the root spiritual cause of their sickness. Rather than complaining about HaShem and the rest of the world, those who lack emuna can blame themselves for their troubles.

 

    

As with incarceration, a sick person should utilize available time for self-evaluation and for soul searching. Many patients lie idle in hospital beds for hours; freed from the demands of a normally busy routine, the bedridden should take advantage of the time that is suddenly at their disposal. Oftentimes, a sick person’s bodily urges diminish dramatically, enabling one to look at the world objectively. At such times, a person gives the soul’s delicate voice a fair hearing. Many healthy people let their bellowing bodies drown out the soul’s voice.

      

How tragic when "loved ones" arrange for a television to be planted in front of a sick person’s face! All the wonderful available time that was designed for the type of soul-searching that would lead to a full recovery is now wasted on folly.

 

When a person passes the test of faith that accompanies affliction, HaShem receives tremendous gratification. Such a person is a courageous son or daughter of HaShem that realizes for what purpose they’ve been sent to this world. Not only will they merit good health and complete recoveries, they are granted an outstanding mark in emuna.

 

To be continued…