One Friday afternoon, Yehuda Bernstein found himself in the pediatrician’s office with his 3-year-old son Sholom. Looking at the results of Sholom’s blood tests, the doctor ordered them to the hospital. As Shabbos began, Yehuda stood at his son’s bedside in a Philadelphia pediatric emergency room. His child had been diagnosed with cancer.
Over the course of a year, Sholom underwent grueling treatments and a bone marrow transplant. One of Yehuda’s greatest challenges was coaxing him to take his medication. The child resisted the nurses’ efforts and viewed the hospital as a place of suffering.
One Friday, help arrived in the most unexpected way. The child was refusing his medication when the door to the hospital room opened, and a group of bachurim from the Yeshiva of Philadelphia entered. Guitar and song filled the air. The bachurim erupted into dance, drawing Sholom into the circle. The boy smiled, and the bachurim cheered him on as he swallowed his medication.
The nurses watched in astonishment, wondering how these teens had developed such a rapport with the child, and how they had known to arrive exactly when needed.
“Most teenagers are concerned only with themselves and have a hard time empathizing with others,” a nurse remarked to Yehuda. “It is remarkable that these boys can connect with a three-year-old and show him such care and compassion. Mr. Bernstein. You are lucky to be a part of the Jewish family!”
Reproduced from A Life Worth Living by Rabbi Shraga Freedman with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
