digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: when facing a seemingly impossible crisis with no resources, turn directly to Hashem in prayer, recognizing that He is the source of all circumstances and can be approached at any time without appointments, sponsors, or insurance. The story illustrates this through a father whose infant daughter had a life-threatening illness and who, after exhausting every human avenue, prayed sincerely and saw a remarkable recovery.
Key Points
- The father, raised in Meah Shearim, had almost nothing: his family of 14 children shared a tiny apartment, and they slept in shifts.
- When his baby was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, he tried every local avenue, including askanim and doctors across Eretz Yisrael, but no one could help.
- He was told that one of the biggest specialists is in Israel, and that there is a doctor in America who could possibly help, but he had no money, no insurance, and no idea how to reach America.
- Just as he feared the appointment would be missed, he took a taxi from Yerushalayim to Tel Aviv, paying his last 500 shekels, but he arrived after the doctor had left.
- Sitting exhausted in the askan's home, he began to make a cheshbon (reckoning) but stopped and instead prayed, reflecting that he could talk to Hashem at any time with no appointment, sponsor, or insurance, since Hashem created him, his daughter, and the world.
- His daughter later made a remarkable recovery, which he attributed to that prayer.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: The story's central instruction is to pray directly to Hashem when all human options fail, speaking to Him at any moment without needing appointments, a sponsor, or insurance. It also advises turning to Him by saying "Baruch Hashem" and recognizing that He created the person, the child, and the world, and therefore controls the situation. The story frames the choice in crisis as either giving up or making "a shtickel like you never made before," meaning a sincere, heartfelt prayer.
- The father's family lived in a tiny apartment with 14 children and shared sleeping shifts, highlighting how little he had.
- The taxi trip covered the route from Yerushalayim to Tel Aviv in about half an hour, with the driver speeding and reportedly driving on two tires, and the father paid all of his savings, 500 shekels, for it.
- The father credits the sincere prayer ('shtickel') for the recovery; his wife jokingly noted he could have made that prayer at home and saved the money and danger, but he explained such a shtickel could only be made under those exact circumstances.
Bottom Line
Even in situations with no visible way forward, the story asserts that turning to Hashem in sincere prayer is always available and is the decisive response, because He controls all circumstances.
