Before World War I, there was a man who was working in a stone quarry in Jerusalem. He would chisel marble and rock to harvest the stones. One day, a massive boulder fell on his leg, and he was very badly hurt. At that time, the hospitals in Israel were very behind in medical advancements, and the doctor informed the man his suggestion was to amputate the leg. The man refused, and the doctor said, “Well, if you go to the hospital in Vienna, there’s a chance that they will be able to save the leg.”
The man went to his rabbi, who helped raise money for a ticket to Vienna. The man made it to Vienna and arrived at the hospital where the doctor told him it would be a very expensive operation to repair the leg, which he couldn’t afford. The man broke down, left the hospital, and limped to a park bench where he sat and cried bitter tears to Hashem. Suddenly, a beautiful coach rolled up in front of him, and a wealthy-looking man came out to ask him what was wrong. The man opened his heart and told his story to this stranger. The wealthy man wrote a note on a paper and said, “Give this to the doctor at the hospital. They will take care of your problem.”
Emperor Franz Joseph
The man went back to his hotel with the folded note, feeling defeated. He thought, “What will this goy be able to do? He can’t help me.” The man recounted the events of the day to the host at the hotel. The host asked to see the note and gasped, “Do you know who this was? You met the Kaiser, the Emperor of Austria! He signed this note telling the doctors at the hospital to repair your leg! You will be healed!”
The doctors fixed the man’s leg, and he returned to Jerusalem. He went back to his rabbi to tell him about his experience. After he told the story about how the Emperor of Austria came to him and listen to his tearful pleas, the man broke down in tears again. The rabbi said, “Why are you crying? This was a miracle from Hashem!” The man cried, “If I had only known I was speaking to the very powerful Kaiser, I would have asked for the world. I would have asked him for more time. I can’t believe I had his ear, and I let him go so quickly.”
On Rosh Hashanah, we are standing in front of Borei Olam. We stand before the King of Kings, and we have a golden opportunity to do teshuvah and to ask for whatever our heart desires. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we are incredibly close to Hashem, and it is a sin to take this time for granted.
The Rambam says that a person must look at himself as if his scale in heaven is at 50:50. He must take advantage of this amazing opportunity to be close to Hashem, and to do teshuvah, and pray that his mitzvot will outweigh the averot. We read on Rosh Hashanah the stories of Sarah and Chana.
Both these women were physically incapable of having children. However, because of Hashem’s infinite kindness, both women’s’ prayers were answered on Rosh Hashanah to teach us that anything is possible on this day. As Rabbi Nachman said, “Prayers have the ability to alter nature.”
Reprinted from the Rosh Hashanah 5781 email of Jack E. Rahmey based on the Torah teachings of Rabbi Amram Sananes.
