By Rabbi Yosef Weiss
In the year 1928, the entire Jewish world was horrified to hear that the saintly Hafess Hayim, at the age of eighty-eight, was terribly ill. All around the globe, prayers streamed heavenward as Klal Yisrael begged Hashem to spare the Hafess Hayim and allow him to recuperate and receive a complete refuah shelemah.
One young man of twenty-three, who lived next door to the Hafess Hayim was particularly distressed. R' Mordechai had long since cherished the unique opportunity to attend to the Hafess Hayim and fulfill his every need. Now, his beloved Rabbi was close to death. How could Klal Yisrael survive without the Hafess Hayim's guiding hand?
A Special Night Spent in the Bet Midrash
One evening, R' Mordechai entered the bet midrash and spent the entire night engrossed in the recital of Tehillim, tears streaming down his cheeks as he fervently prayed to Hashem for the Hafess Hayim's recovery. By morning R' Mordechai was still hunched over his Tehillim in the deserted bet midrash, immersed in earnest prayer.
Seeing that the bet midrash was empty, he hesitated for a moment, then slowly approached the aron hakodesh. He felt that he must do more than just pray for the Hafess Hayim. Now, with nobody else to witness what he was about to do, he opened the aron hakodesh and lovingly kissed the sifrei Torah.
"Ribbono Shel Olam," he whispered, "Klal Yisrael needs the Hafess Hayim. I am thereby giving up five years of my life for him so he should have a speedy recovery."
Didn’t Anyone to Know What He Had Done
Without another word, R' Mordechai closed the aron and returned to his seat. People would soon be coming, and he did not want anyone to know what he had done.
Days later, the news raced through Radin. The Hafess Hayim was recuperating! The danger was past! Within a few weeks, the Hafess Hayim had fully recovered.
R' Mordechai happily looked forward to resuming his holy duties for the Hafess Hayim, but a nagging thought troubled him. He had granted five years of his life to his beloved Rabbi, but he was only a young man in his early twenties. What good could five of his years be for a gadol of the Hafess Hayim's stature? Perhaps someone on a higher level would be required to donate years for the Hafess Hayim. On the other hand, if the value of the years would be measured by the level of the recipient, there would be no problem. R' Mordechai would have given his Rabbi five years which the Hafess Hayim could use at his own sublime level. But how could he know which theory was correct?
Wanted to Ask the Tzadik a “Theoretical Question”
He decided to approach the Hafess Hayim and ask him a "theoretical question." As R' Mordechai approached the Hafess Hayim's desk, the gadol gazed steadily at him and said, "Mordche, you should know that your prayers were accepted in heaven."
At first, R' Mordechai assumed that the Hafess Hayim referred to his prayers which, like those of all Klal Yisrael, had been dedicated to the gadol's recovery. But the Hafess Hayim continued, "I will give you my word, Mordche, that in the merit of what you have given me, you will live to be as old as I am now."
R' Mordechai stared at his Rabbi in shock. How had he known of the offer he had made to Hashem several weeks ago?
The Hafess Hayim Lived Another Five Years
The Hafess Hayim lived for five more fruitful years, before his passing in 1933 at the age of ninety-three. R' Mordechai Londinski never breathed a word about the incident that had taken place, although he did relate the story to his oldest son, Moshe.
In Sivan of 1995, when he had just turned eighty-nine, R' Mordechai passed away. He was one year older than the Hafess Hayim had been during his near-fatal illness.
At R' Mordechai's funeral, R' Moshe Londinski repeated his father's story for the first time, then added, "My father would have wanted this story to be told for only one reason: to show the world more of the holiness of the Hafess Hayim.(Visions of Greatness II
Reprinted from the Parshat Vayesse 5784 email of Rabbi David Bibi’s Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace.
