During Rav Ben Tzion’s tenure as Rosh Yeshiva, people came to him not just to learn Torah, but also to receive his blessings and advice.
Once, a father whose son was critically ill came to Rav Ben Tzion. The doctors had recommended a treatment for his son that was very risky, and he was unsure whether to give them the go-ahead to do it.
“Take him out of the hospital,” Rav Ben Tzion advised him.
The father followed Rav Ben Tzion’s advice, but it proved to be rather complicated. Taking a seriously ill patient out of the hospital is no simple affair, since in such cases hospitals refuse to release medical records to the patient’s relatives. In this case, the hospital staff went so far as to call in the police, and it was only due to the intervention of a community leader that charges weren’t pressed against the family.
In the end, the child recovered without the treatment, the consequences of which may have been dire.
Rav Ben Tzion disagreed with doctors on many different occasions, and his diagnosis would invariably prove to be correct. How was this possible? He never studied medicine, nor did he have access to X-ray machines or ultrasound devices. As the Chovos HaLevovos says, “One who lives a life of faith merits seeing without an eye, to hear without an ear. His soul sees” (Sha’ar Cheshbon HaNefesh, Chapter 3).
Rav Ben Tzion also gave advice on family matters. His approach was innovative and invigorating.
A father whose son had left Yeshiva told Rav Ben Tzion, “My son’s a good-for-nothing. He not only roams the streets, but he has even asked me to buy him a motorcycle.”
“Then buy him one!” replied Rav Ben Tzion.
Though surprised by Rav Ben Tzion’s reaction, the father decided to heed his advice and bought his son a motorcycle. When the young man saw that his father was reaching out to him, he reacted in kind and eventually returned to Yeshiva.
