Idea Proves a Miracle

The following was shared with COLlive.com by the Children’s Sefer Torah project, initiated and supported by the Rebbe. This story happened four years ago:

Schneider Children’s Hospital. Absolute silence reigned in the hospital corridors. Doctors and nurses quickly passed through them on their way from one place to another, busy and occupied with their work. Only one pair of parents stayed sitting in their place, on a small bench next to the operating theater. These parents wore an expression of high pressure and helplessness. A heart-rending sigh was heard from time to time as they prayed silently, appealing for Heavenly mercy.

Their beloved son was currently lying on the operating table, behind the sealed doors, undergoing heart surgery. His parents waited with bated breath for the moment when the operating surgeon would come out and tell them what they wanted to hear: “To life and not to …” Their feelings of worry gnawed away at them relentlessly. “Master of the Universe, do this for the sake of your little Jewish children,” they prayed.

A while later the worried parents were called to speak to the surgeon. They jumped up and ran down to his office, all the while praying silently and hoping for good news.

They closed the door behind them, sat down, and looked at the surgeon’s expression. Maybe they would see the answer for themselves. The surgeon’s serious expression only added to their tension. The parents’ hearts beat faster, with a growing sense of fear.

“Your child is now in the recovery room,” the surgeon announced in an indefinable tone. “From the point of view of his heart, the operation was successful. But –” and here the surgeon lowered his voice. “I regret to inform you that during the operation we hit the respiratory nerve and it was damaged.”

The bomb had now been dropped.

“This means that from the child’s point of view, in the worst case he will be left in a vegetative state,” the doctor announced.

A moment later, however, he added, “It is possible that after a while he may rally and start to breathe on his own, without any apparatus, but he will not be able to speak. It is also possible that in a few years, his power of speech will return, but he will remain disabled forever and he will need constant medical supervision.”

The parents were completely shocked. They turned pale and they began to tremble before collapsing on the spot. They could not even respond to such terrible news.

A while later, when they understood what the surgeon had said the parents burst into heartrending sobs. They wept for their beloved little boy who would be handicapped forever.

By Divine Providence, a Chabad chossid present at the hospital heard the parents’ cries and wails, realizing that they were completely heartbroken. He approached them and tried to raise their spirits, offering them words of support in their hour of need.

The chossid suggested that they should buy their son a letter in the Children’s Sefer Torah as a protection and a blessing. He told them about the merit of having a letter in the Sefer Torah, the power that a Jew receives from it, and the amazing connection between the Jew and the Holy One that is forged through the Torah.

The parents were encouraged by his words, and then and there they purchased a letter in this special Sefer Torah for their little boy.

A few hours went by, and the little boy who was going to have a limited, sad life, slowly opened his eyes. The medical staff was very excited, and they called the worried parents, telling them to come and see the miracle for themselves. As the minutes passed, the little boy continued to show more signs of life and recovery. He had come back to life.

As time went on, it did not look as if he had any problems with his respiratory nerve. He was functioning as normal. He even spoke like anyone else, though he was quieter and his voice was weak. But the physician’s bleak prognosis did not come about. The little boy was a child like any other… he began to smile again, to play, and he grew into a fine, healthy Jew.

The withered “vegetable” came back to life. The special letter saved his life. The Rebbe’s directive restored his soul.

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The fifth Children’s Sefer Torah will be conclued on Wednesday, Av 20, 5772, at the Tzemach Tzedek Shul in the Old City of Jerusalem and at the Kotel. Registration for the Sixth Children’s Torah has begun at kidstorah.org