The story before us took place decades ago, and was published by the Bnei Emunim organization by a dear Jew living in the United States, who himself was a witness to the fact:
In the East Side – the Jewish center of Manhattan, where I lived in my youth, there also lived a dear Jew who dedicated his life to strengthening the mitzvah of answering Amen. For many years, the man was a walking symbol for the fulfillment of the Amen's Prayer, and the children of the area even affectionately called him 'Omenman', meaning 'the man of the artists'.
In the main synagogue where he prayed, his voice would reverberate in Ramah – whenever a blessing was heard, when, despite the commotion around him, one could hear from all corners of the Hall, how the word "Amen" came out of his mouth in moderation, and the glory of Heaven would multiply. In this way, the man would sweep away the rest of the worshippers, and in addition to the fact that the man himself was careful not to miss a single artist, he devoted supreme efforts to increase more and more of the amen's poverty in his surroundings. In particular, he was accustomed to strengthening this mitzva among the young people of the flock (small children who had not yet reached the mitzvot). His pockets were always puffy with sweets – which he would distribute to the children, who recited the blessings aloud and were careful to observe the mitzva of Anit intentionally.
When our knowledge reached the age of 75, he fell ill with a severe heart disease. In those days – when medicine was not as advanced as it is today, patients of this type did not have many chances of living a long life. He turned to the doctors, who presented him with two choices; the first was to undergo a very complicated heart surgery, after which his chances of recovering from the disease and surviving were slim. The second is not to undergo the complicated surgery, and then he will certainly not survive more than a short period. 'The Artist's Man' listened to the doctor's words with a calm face, and when he finished speaking, he thanked him and turned to leave the room, declaring firmly that he was not performing the operation, no matter what! This was very puzzling to his son, who was accompanying him, and he could not resist and asked: "Father, why?! How can you take on such a heavy responsibility of life and death, at least you would have consulted, asked a rabbi's question, or consulted someone in the field of medicine!" How surprising was the father's confident answer to his son: "My son, all my life I have been careful to do many things for the sake of the mitzva of answering Amen. We were promised about it by Chazal: 'Whoever prolongs his life and years will be prolonged.' 'Amen' in Gematria = 91 ... If so, I can be calm... At least until the age of ninety-one – I am sure that I will live a long life, G-d willing, the father concluded, so why should I agree to an operation that could shorten my life?
The author of the story adds: "The Artist Man" indeed recovered from his illness and continued to live a long life. And when his ninetieth birthday came, his son asked him: "Father, do you remember that you told me that you would live at least until the age of 91 because of your extreme adherence to the mitzva of poor people? And what next... After all, next year you're going to be 91 years old!" The father replied jokingly that he had already begun to make sure to say 'Amen Sala'... However, a few months later, while still in his ninety-first year, the man returned his soul to its Creator. And it was a wonder.
