by Rabbi Y. Chitrick
One of the Alter Rebbe's chasidim suddenly fell ill while sailing down the Dnieper on a business trip. He decided to leave the ship at the next port, Shklov, and seek medical attention. He went to a well-known doctor who answered him in grave tones, "I'm afraid you have contracted a rare disease for which, as of yet, no cure has been found. I suggest you return home immediately." The chasid, however, decided to go see his Rebbe before going home. "If my days are numbered, at least I will have seen the Rebbe before I die," he thought, and set out for Liozna.
When he related the doctor's words to the Rebbe, he was surprised to hear the Rebbe's reaction, "Rubbish! You are only suffering from malaria!"
"But Rebbe," the chasid protested, "one of the symptoms of malaria is recurring shivers and chills, neither of which I have."
"Nu, so you will shiver!" the Rebbe said. No sooner had the Rebbe uttered those words when the chasid began trembling and remained there until he fully recovered. Once he regained his strength, he set out back home, passing through Shklov to see the doctor whom he had previously consulted.
"How could you have frightened me so, telling me that I had some incurable disease? You see, thank G-d, all I had was case of malaria and now I am alive and well."
"Indeed," replied the doctor, "you had malaria. However, there are two variants of this disease. One is a serious, but uncomplicated illness characterized by chills and shivers for which treatment is available. The other, more severe case is typified by a gradual loss of energy. For this, there is no cure. You most certainly had the more severe type of malaria. I am amazed at your recovery. What happened?"
The chasid told the doctor of his visit to the Alter Rebbe. "The only explanation I have," the doctor responded, "is that his blessing transformed the disease from one type to the other."
The Alter Rebbe explained the verse, "You know the secrets of this world" as follows: The "secrets of the world," the explanations for the events that transpire over the course of our lives, are known only to G-d himself.
He then told the following story: A Jew earned his livelihood as an agent of local shop owners. His job was to buy merchandise in a distant city and transport it back to his town.
Once, on his way back to town, his carriage, loaded with merchandise, got stuck on a muddy road. Despite the combined efforts of the wagon driver and himself, the carriage would not budge.
The Jew was devastated. "What shall I do? All the merchandise will become ruined by the mud! How will I ever be able to pay back this loss?" he wailed.
Just then a wealthy man happened to pass by. He readily lent a hand to the two struggling men, but try as they could, they couldn't budge the wagon. In his concern for the agent, the rich man lifted his hands helplessly.
"Dear G-d," he sighed. "I would gladly help this man with my money. However, what is really needed here is pure physical strength, and that I do not have.
At the same time, a short distance away, another incident took place. A hefty, muscular man, who earned a meager livelihood by doing heavy physical labor, was on his way home from work. Suddenly, he heard a commotion and sounds of wailing down the road.
"Somebody is in trouble, I must go help," was his natural reaction. He followed the sounds and came across a heartbreaking scene. A poor family was being led off to prison, surrounded by guards. Without hesitation, the strong man began pulling the guards away.
The guards protested, "Hey, what are you doing? We have nothing against these poor people. The local poritz has instructed us to place them in prison because of years of unpaid rent. If you prevent us from carrying out the sentence, he will send more soldiers."
"How much do they owe?" inquired the man.
The guards stated an enormous sum. The man juggled the few coins he had in his pocket and heaved a sigh. "Dear G-d, You know that if any measure of physical effort could help, I would offer it without question. However, it seems that only money can save this family, and that I do not have."
The Alter Rebbe concluded the story saying: "Many of us would have preferred for G-d to have reversed the circumstances and thus, allowed both individuals to be helped. However, this is precisely the meaning of the verse: 'You know the secrets of the world'--only G-d knows."
* from My Father's Shabbos Table
