by Yehuda Z. Klitniick
The great Gaon, Reb Avraham Yehuda HaCohen Schwartz of Beregszász in western Ukraine, the author of the sefer Kol Aryeh, often went to visit the Sanzer Rav, Harav Chaim Halberstam, the Divrei Chaim. The Kol Aryeh served as the Rav of Beregszász, where he was appointed in 5621. Later, in 5641, he was appointed as Rav in his birthplace and he moved to Mad.
He considered himself to be a talmid and a chassid of the Sanzer Rav. He traveled to the Sanzer Rav for Shavuot 26 times. And each time he was there for Shavuot the Sanzer Rav called him up to the Torah for Kohen. He was most often referred to as the Kol Aryeh, since that was the name of his most famous sefer.
One day, the Sanzer Rav needed a large amount of money for pidyan shvuyim, to redeem an innocent Jewish prisoner. So, he sent a telegram to Beregszász to the Kol Aryeh. In the telegram he asked Reb Avraham Yehuda to raise a big sum of money for the cause. The Kol Aryeh went out by himself to the city, which had many wealthy Jews, and raised the needed sum of money, and sent it to Sanz.
The Sanzer Rav thanked the Kol Aryeh very gratefully, and wrote him a letter full of appreciation and praise. He also wrote, “Whenever you will need a yeshuah, this mitzvah will be useful to you.”
A few weeks later, Reb Avraham Yehuda became very sick. He was so ill, that they had to take him to Vienna to the big hospital there. Reb Avraham Yehuda immediately asked them to send a telegram to Sanz to remind the Rebbe of the guarantee he had given him.
When the Kol Aryeh arrived at the hospital, the doctors were very scared. He had a hemorrhage, a sudden and significant loss of blood from a damaged artery, which is a medical emergency. Even today it is life-threatening. In those days, the best the doctors could do was very primitive, and usually didn’t help much. When he arrived at the hospital, it was the middle of the night. The leading doctor of the hospital wasn’t there at the time, and the doctors that were there couldn’t decide how to operate.
Suddenly, they heard a loud commotion outside. Large horses were coming quickly to the hospital, pulling a wagon that held the head doctor. The head doctor appeared at the door and briskly came in. It was strange, because the head doctor was never in the hospital at that time of night. The head doctor asked, “Where is the big Jewish Rabbiner from Beregszász who traveled here from Hungary?”
Everyone in the hospital was astonished. How did the head doctor know about the arrival of the Kol Aryeh? There were no telephones in those days, so who could have told him? How did he know to come to the hospital at that time?
Meanwhile, the Kol Aryeh was lying in his sickbed, where the other doctors were standing and worrying about him. The head doctor rushed to his side, and did whatever he needed to do to save the patient. He gave a proper diagnosis and stopped the danger as it was happening. He gave instructions to the doctors and nurses about how to further treat this patient until he would be completely cured.
In a few days, the Kol Aryeh was completely healed. The head doctor came to visit him as Reb Avraham Yehuda was getting better. The head doctor sat down by Reb Avraham Yehuda’s bedside and told him the following:
“The night that you were brought here to the hospital, in extreme danger, I lay down to sleep, alone, in my bedroom. Suddenly, there appeared to me an old Yid who dragged his leg. (As is known, the Sanzer Rav was crippled in one leg. For that reason, he limped all his life.) He looked divine. He asked me to hurry and immediately go to the hospital, because they needed me very urgently.
“I thought it was just a dream, and I went back to sleep. But the man would not let me sleep. He shook me awake and said to me, ‘Honored physician! A big and important Rav from Hungary, the Beregszász Rav, is lying in your hospital. He is in a very deadly situation, and his life is in danger. The doctors cannot find a solution to his problem, and they desperately need you. Hurry now and run to the hospital!’ He told me this several times, and wouldn’t leave me alone.
“So, I had no choice,” finished the head doctor. “I woke up my assistant. He took out my horses from the stable and hitched them to the wagon. As you can see, we came on time to the hospital. Everyone saw how the Sanzer Rav kept his guarantee, in the merit of what the Kol Aryeh did to help with a mitzvah.
Reprinted from an email of of Pardes Yehuda.
