Rav Yechiel Spero writes that at times, our acts of kindness can not only help another person, but it can earn us great merit and exceptional reward, as can be seen in the following story:
It is about a woman who was approaching middle age and had not yet been bentched with a child. The doctors, tefilos, and brachos from Gedolim did not seem to help — yet.
To keep herself busy, she would go to the hospital and volunteer her services. One day, as she was leaving Maimonides Hospital in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, she walked by a room and she heard an elderly woman moaning.
She entered the room and attempted to initiate a conversation with the patient. The woman was despondent. Alone in the world, she was used to spending all day staring at the walls, and she tried to give the impression that she was not interested in company. However, she did not succeed.
Slowly, over a period of a few months, the volunteer was able to break open the wall that the elderly woman had placed around herself. She penetrated her heart, and the two became friends. She would visit every day, and after a while, she was even able to elicit a smile from the patient. It was clear that the high point of the elderly woman’s day was her visit from the volunteer.
Regrettably, as her happiness increased, the disease that was ravaging her body was progressing, and it soon became clear that her days on this world were numbered. The last day of her life came quickly, but she was prepared for it, and above all else, she was no longer alone.
She looked at the woman who had befriended her and with tear-filled eyes, she said, “I can never repay you for what you have done for me these last few months. Your daily visits have made life worth living for me. I have nothing to give you as a token of my appreciation. However, there is one thing that I will do for you. I know how much you want to have a child. I promise you that when I come before the Heavenly Throne, I will daven for you. Believe me when I say that I will not let go until Hashem grants my request!”
With those last words, she closed her eyes and breathed her last breath. Amazingly, one year later, a little boy was born to the volunteer and her husband. The Mitzvah of Chesed, helping to make the last days on this earth for an elderly, lonely woman a little less lonely and a little less depressing, made the difference. What tefilos and brachos did not achieve, a selfless act of Chesed was able toaccomplish!
Rav Joey Haber related a story about a man, who, after many years of Davening and hoping to have children, found himself struggling with uncertainty. One day, a friend of his called to say he was cleaning out his garage and had some items to give away, offering his friend to come and take whatever he wanted.
The man went over to see what was available. In the corner, he spotted a beautiful double stroller, and he felt a spark of inspiration. He thought, “If I truly believe that Hashem is going to bentch me with children, I should take this stroller now.”
Even though he had no children yet, he accepted the gift and went home with it. Within the year, he was bentched with twins, and the stroller was perfectly suited for the miracle that he had acted in faith to receive!
Reprinted from the Parshas Vayakhel – Pekudei 5786 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’Tefilah.
