One autumn day Rabbi Yedidya Horodner walked into the "Tiferet Yisrael" synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem with a big smile on his face. With a grand flourish he placed a bottle of whiskey and some cake on the table, and invited everyone to make a "l'chayim."
The congregants wondered what the cause for celebration might be. A rumor had been circulating that the day before, Rabbi Horodner had gone to all the local yeshivas and distributed candy to the children. Something good had obviously occurred, and they waited expectantly to hear what it was.
Indeed, after everyone had made a blessing on the cake and lifted a few glasses, the Rabbi filled them in:
The whole story revolved around the Rabbi's nephew, a 15-year-old boy named Shmuel Rosen who was originally from Riga. His father, Rabbi Ozer Rosen, had sent the lad to his uncle when he was only eight years old, in the belief that there was no better place in the world to develop the boy's intellectual talents than the holy city. Rabbi Horodner raised little Shmuel as if he was his own son, and the boy flourished. He was a delightful child, and exceptionally devoted to his studies.
Disaster Struck
A few weeks ago, however, disaster had struck. After experiencing deteriorating vision for several months, Shmuel was now completely blind. The total darkness had set in as he was sitting and poring over a volume of the Talmud.
The boy's spirit was completely broken. For days and nights he wept over his fate, most bitterly over his inability to study Torah by himself. Suffering from a profound sadness, he withdrew and rarely ventured from his room. His uncle felt helpless, until it occurred to him that a change of place might do the boy good. He contacted his friend, Reb Shimon Hoizman of Hebron, who agreed to let the boy stay in his house. Shmuel felt a little better in Hebron, but remained very depressed.
Two Torah Giants
At that time the Jewish community of Hebron was headed by two Torah giants: the Sefardic Rabbi Chizkiyahu Medini (author of Sdei Chemed), and the Chasidic Rabbi Shimon-Menashe Chaikin, the chief Ashkenazic authority in the city.
Every evening at midnight, the two Rabbis would go to the Cave of Machpeila, the resting place of the Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs, to recite Tikun Chatzot (a special prayer lamenting the destruction of the Holy Temple).
R. Shimon Hoizman was very affected by the boy's suffering. But what could he do to help? Then one evening, he came up with a plan.... About a half hour before midnight R. Shimon went into Shmuel's room. "Wake up, son," he whispered to him softly. "Get dressed and follow me." The two went off into the night, in the direction of Rabbi Chaikin's courtyard.
A few minutes later the two chief Rabbis could be seen approaching, on their way to the Cave of Machpeila. As soon as they reached the spot where R. Shimon and Shmuel were standing, R. Shimon disappeared, leaving Shmuel by himself. The two Rabbis quickly realized that Shmuel was blind. They gently asked him how he had become sightless.
Rely on Rabbi Shimon
When the young man got up to the part about how he had become totally blind while studying, Rabbi Medini asked if he remembered the last words he had been able to see. "Of course I remember!" Shmuel responded. "They were in Tractate Chulin, page 36A: 'On whom can we depend? Come, let us rely on the words of Rabbi Shimon [Bar Yochai]'"
The two Rabbis became very excited. "If that is the case," they said almost simultaneously, "then you can certainly rely on the holy Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai to help you. Go to his grave in Meron, ask for his blessing, and G-d will surely heal you."
The next morning Shmuel returned to Jerusalem, and the very same day he and his uncle set off for Meron. It was a difficult journey, but after several days they arrived safely. Even before they approached the holy gravesite they were filled with a feeling of confidence. For days they remained at the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, praying steadily to G-d for a miraculous recovery.
The miracle occurred exactly one week later. Rabbi Horodner was reading aloud from the Gemara when all of a sudden Shmuel let out a yelp. "Uncle! I can see your shadow!" Over the course of the next few days Shmuel's vision improved steadily, until 13 days later it was restored completely.
Still camped out at the holy gravesite, uncle and nephew broke out into a spontaneous dance, as they sang the verses that are traditionally sung on Lag b'Omer, the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's passing:
"His teachings are our protection; they are the light of our eyes. He is our advocate for good, Rabban Shimon Bar Yochai..."
Source: Excerpted and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from lchaimweekly.org #645 (5761/2001)
Rabbi Tilles of Tsfat is a co-founder of ASCENT. His email list for stories is in its 27th year. To join the list a/o his WhatsApp group for Saturday night Audio, Video and Zoom stories, go to AscentOfSafed.com or WhatsApp +972-526-770-137.
To receive Living Jewish each week visit https://chabadisrael.co.il/alonichabad/
