The Words of the Vilna Gaon Were Fulfilled:
It is related the Vilna Gaon zt”l once felt a severe pain in his throat. His family members immediately sent for a doctor, who checked the Gaon and said that he had a wart on his throat that was full of pus. The doctor advised that the Gaon needed to have surgery performed immediately to remove the throat. If he didn’t, he might choke!
Living in the city was a woman who was known to be able to cure diseases. She would go to a sick person and utter some words, and the person would be healed. Someone told the Gaon about this woman and he agreed to have her called to him. When she arrived, the Gaon – who was wary that her powers may not stem from pure sources – asked her what it was that she said when she treated the sick. In response, the woman began telling him her life story.
She related that her husband had died at a very young age, leaving her as a widow with several young children and no source of livelihood. She quickly used up her savings and had no food for her children. In desperation, she went to the bais medrash in the middle of the night, opened the Aron Hakodesh, and began to cry out to Hashem. After bemoaning her plight and begging for mercy, she heard a Heavenly voice telling her to begin healing the sick with her words, and assuring her she would be able to make a living from doing so. She asked what words she should say, and the voice replied that she should asks for a cup of water and, after drinking, make the blessing of “Boreh Nefashos.” This would heal the sick person!
The next day, she told those around her that she knew how to heal the sick. From then on, she was able to earn a good living.
When the Gaon heard her story, he began to laugh. He laughed so much that the wart on his throat burst and all the pus flowed out, thus healing him completely.
A short time later, he related what had really occurred. He had been learning in the back of the bais medrash in the middle of the night when he heard the woman crying. Since she was disturbing him, his only option was to tell her something to calm her down so that he could continue his learning. Therefore, he was the one who told her to take on this occupation. The Gaon concluded, “I told her this so that I could learn, but my words were fulfilled by Hashem!”
