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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Pray sincerely and with full emotional commitment, even when the situation seems hopeless, because the speaker presents heartfelt prayer as the way a request is answered. The story follows a young man who, after being called back from a flight to Australia because his fiancée took a turn for the worse, was told by a rebbe to go pray, and who found his bride with color back in her face and smiling afterward.
Key Points
- The story is told by Rabbi Paysach Krohn, who attributes it to David Pelkowitz, a psychologist and therapist who volunteers at Camp Hi Lifeline, a camp for very sick children.
- The couple met at camp: both had survived cancer and were in remission, and the staff chose to let them meet despite objections about their past illness.
- The young man was mid-flight to Australia when the pilot was alerted; after landing in Melbourne, his passport and luggage were expedited and police escorted him through security to catch a return flight to Los Angeles.
- The rebbe refused to marry the couple unless the bride was aware, and only agreed to meet him after the young man begged.
- The rebbe sent him to pray, and the speaker frames the outcome as proof that Hashem listens to prayer offered with tears and understanding of the words.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: The rebbe's only instruction was to go into another room and pray, because "tefila" helps. The young man prayed the Shema, the Amidah, and the Shim Shalom blessing, asking for his bride and her mother by name, weeping throughout. In the Shim Shalom, he prayed: "Hashem, with the light of Your face you gave us the Torah. Take the light of Your face and give it to my bride, she's so pale. Give some to my girl. I want to marry her, live with her, and build a family."
- The rebbe first asked the young man to leave the room so he could speak with the bride himself, and would have married them on the spot only if she was aware.
- Travel timeline: about six hours to Los Angeles, then about thirteen more hours to Melbourne, with a return flight arranged three hours after landing.
- The speaker says the couple now has two children and is building a family together, which he cites as the result of the prayer.
- The story is introduced as emotionally difficult, with a note that tissues might be needed.
Bottom Line
The story presents prayer offered with tears and real understanding of its words as the decisive response to a desperate situation, with the speaker treating its outcome as evidence that Hashem is listening.
