Refused to accept it. It was Shabbos, and Shabbos is a day of joy. They didn't want to hear or see the letter. It was Shabbos; they would be happy, and that was final.
The messenger left the letter at the home of one of the Herman relatives. The relative came to the Herman home to tell the parents the terrible news, but they refused to listen to what their relative was saying.
After havdalah, a second messenger from the hospital arrived at their door. "We're so sorry," he said. "We made a terrible mistake with the last letter. The letter wasn't intended for you. It was written to the other Herman family. Your daughter is doing fine. In fact, over the past twenty-four hours, her health has drastically improved."
Their joy on Shabbos healed their daughter.
I heard from a person who works in kiruv rechokim that he once gave a speech on the topic of being happy on Shabbos, and he repeated stories of tzaddikim who refused to cry or to mourn on Shabbos, even after a great loss, r'l. One person from the audience (not yet religious) became very upset when he heard that. He said, "How can the Torah obligate us to control our emotions? And how can the Torah not permit a person to feel his emotions at a difficult time? Is there no compassion in religion?"
The speaker sent up a silent prayer to Hashem before answering. He told Hashem, "This is for Your honor, not mine. Please send me the right words."
Then he answered, "There was a famous actor who was informed minutes before a show that his father had just died. But the show had to go on, so the actor pushed the sorrow out of his mind and played his part. After the show, the producers announced that the actor had acted superbly, even after discovering that his father had died moments before the show. He had succeeded in overcoming his emotions."
The actor received a standing ovation from the crowd.
In this manner, he gave the questioner to understand that there are times when one must overcome his emotions. Shabbos is such a time. Shabbos is a time of joy.
