Rav Neta Slonim shlit”a told an amazing story that took place in Beit Shemesh:
Behind Ben Ish Chai street, the municipality paved a pathway. Originally, it was intended to allow emergency vehicles access to the backs of the buildings on that street, as the buildings are built on a mountain, and there are five stories between the front and back entrances.
From the ground floor of one of the buildings, a woman and her children emerged to breathe some fresh air on that lovely pathway, where one could view a forest full of trees, alongside fields. The children and their mother looked forward to a pleasant experience outdoors.
They took a few steps, and suddenly, help! Heavy wooden boards were falling onto the sidewalk, one after another. The neighbor directly above the path had tied his sukkah boards to his porch using plastic zip ties. The sun scorched them, and they became gradually weaker until, precisely at that moment, they tore completely and the boards fell onto the sidewalk with a mighty thud.
Terrified, the mother closed her eyes. Moments later, when she opened them, she saw that her dear children were all safe and sound. The boards had landed in between them, as if they were puzzle pieces moving into place, and the children stood among the boards unscathed!
Frightened and shocked, they thanked Hakadosh Baruch Hu from the depths of their hearts for their miraculous salvation. They returned home to recover from the near-tragedy, and they didn’t leave their home until the next morning.
This was not the end of the story. The next morning, the father of this family went outside and saw that one of the boards had fallen into his yard. When he picked up the board in order to put it outside, he discovered a large poisonous snake. The snake had been smashed under the board and killed on the spot.
The snake died from the force of the board that fell from six stories up. This occurred at 1 p.m., when the snake was moving in the yard. If the board hadn’t fallen at that moment, who knows what would have happened? The snake could easily have entered the house and endangered the entire family. A great tragedy was averted. One miracle led to another, and we can never thank Hashem enough for the miracles and the wonders of the Creator of all worlds.
