The following story is from the Torah Wellsprings, and it happened with the rebbetzin of Reb Chaim Sarna zt'l at the beginning of the Holocaust, when she was still a young girl. When the Holocaust began, whoever could escape did so, and this young girl tried to save her life by running into the forest. She came to a large field, and from the distance, she saw a large, beautiful house. She was very happy. The house was far from the city, and it might be safe for her to hide there. She hoped that the people in this home would take pity on her and save her. With her final strength, she rushed through the courtyard, arrived at the house, and knocked at the door, shouting, "Good people, save me! Save me!"
The appearance of the man who opened the door frightened her. The man wasn't wearing an army uniform, but his mustache was styled like those of the Nazis. This man was the Nazi commander in that area, and the girl immediately realized the trouble she had fallen into. The man laughed a rolling laugh as he shouted, "A Jew!"
She almost fainted and had to hold onto the doorpost for support. He said to her, "Foolish Jew. You ran all this way to fall in my hands... I can kill you in a moment." But suddenly, he became serious and said, "Tell me, young girl, how did you get to my door?"
She showed him the path she took to reach his home. It was through the field, at the edge of the forest, and then through the courtyard. The man said, bewildered, "I have many dogs guarding my home. Why didn't they attack you? How did you pass them and remain alive?"
The girl looked back and saw tens of dogs. All of them had murderous teeth. She hadn’t noticed them earlier. She wouldn't have risked passing through the courtyard if she had seen them earlier. But the fact is that she did pass this courtyard, and she was alive and well!
The man thought that perhaps she had mystical strengths, maybe witchcraft. He told her, "Look, today you can sleep here. But tomorrow morning, I will send you out of here, and obviously, you will need to pass through the courtyard where I keep my dogs. And then I will see. If the dogs do their job... nothing will remain of you. But if you survive, I will know that you are protected from above, and then I give you my word that I will take care of you until the end of the war."
The rebbetzin said, "Don't ask how I passed that night because the night didn't pass! I cried and prayed the entire night, knowing what awaited me in the morning. I saw in my imagination hungry dogs eating me alive, ripping me to pieces. When it was daybreak, I prayed to Hashem, ''Save me, Hashem. Please, Hashem, I am a young girl. I place my life in Your hands; please save me."
The wicked person sent her out into the courtyard. She walked calmly; she didn't rush. She wasn't afraid. She focused on reminding herself that there is no one in the world other than Hashem. Hashem was with her, and the dogs didn't touch her. They didn't even bark. The man, who was a high-ranking Nazi officer, witnessed the miracle and had no choice but to keep his promise. He protected her until the end of the war.
This story teaches us that even wild animals can't cause harm, if Hashem didn't decree it. This isn't solely with regards to dogs. It also applies to dogs who appear like humans. No one can harm you unless Hashem commands so. "When Hashem accepts a person's ways, He will cause even his enemies to make peace with him." As in this story, the cruel Nazi saved this girl and protected her throughout the war. She was saved because of her emunah and because of her tefillot.
Tefillah can turn everything around and save a person's life. We are always at war with the yetzer hara—evil inclination who wants to tear us apart. But just as this young girl was saved from wild dogs with her emunah and tefillot, certainly whoever davens will be saved from the hands of the yetzer hara – including the snare of technology which rips and tears the neshamah of a Jew. Hashem will hear his tefillot and save him from the yetzer hara, and he will be saved and live well.
Reprinted from the Parshas Pinchas 5785 email of Jack E. Rahmey based on the Torah teachings of Rabbi Amram Sananes.
