by Menachem Ziegelboim
Rabbi Tomer is a distinguished rabbi in Ramle, Israel. He recounted this story while constantly repeating words of praise and thanks to G-d.
"It was a week after Chanuka 2001, and a small group of us - Shlomo Edery, Ezra Degaga, Ovadia Tomer (my brother) and I - decided to visit the gravesites of tzadikim (righteous people) in Ukraine. We had in mind to pray at the holy graves of the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, and other tzadikim.
"It wasn't easy traveling in Ukraine. We experienced hard times but we overcame them all. One morning we went on a tour with a local driver whom we had hired for this purpose. We traveled for hours from one grave to another, and in each place we beseeched G-d for His mercies. At 1:30 a.m. we arrived in Haditch, a tiny village, that we could barely make out in the complete darkness.
"We were getting out of the car to go to the holy resting place of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman (founder of Chabad Chasidism and author of Tanya) when we noticed that Ezra had not left the car. We asked him why he didn't get out, and he said he was too tired to go down the hillside. We could understand his feelings, as the cold was bone-chilling - several degrees below zero, there was a strong wind, darkness, and a steep climb down hill. He also complained that his feet hurt, 'Go down and pray on behalf of yourselves and for me, too,' he asked us.
"We refused to leave him behind. We didn't want him to stay alone in the car with a stranger in a strange place. And also, we had finally gotten to this holy place and we didn't want him to miss the opportunity to pray here in Haditch. We just couldn't leave him.
"After a little more cajoling, Ezra agreed to go with us. We went down the hill, and when we got inside we lit candles and began to pray with much feeling.
"As we were praying, I heard the sound of something falling behind me. I quickly turned around and saw Ezra on the ground making agargling sound. Ezra has a great sense of humor and I thought he was joking around. I said, 'Ezra, this is a holy place. It's not a place for jokes,' but he didn't answer me. That's when we realized something terrible had happened. Ezra was white. He continued to make the gargling noise and was frothing at the mouth. Ezra took a deep breath and then was utterly silent.
"I have seen people in their final moments of life and I knew this was the stage Ezra was in. We were losing him right before our eyes!
"None of us were doctors nor did any of us know C.P.R. We stood there helplessly as the cold of two o'clock in the morning got even colder. We just stood there.
"My thoughts raced furiously. What happened? How did he suddenly die? How will we bring him back home? What will we tell his wife? How will I be able to look his children in the eye? All these thoughts ran through my mind.
"Instinctively I turned towards the Alter Rebbe's resting place and prostrated myself on it and burst out, "Rebbe! I ask and plead for Ezra Degaga. We came here to you, to a great tzadik, as four living Jews. We came to pray at your grave, and we ask and plead that you do a miracle so that we four Jews can walk out of here. Do it in the merit of the prayers that we offered here and in the merit of the Tanya we have studied.
"I prayed from the depths of my heart, and after a short time I heard a sound behind me. I turned around and saw Ezra opening his eyes. The others quickly poured water on him to revive him a bit. Within a few minutes he was even able to get up.
"The whole thing took ten minutes, but it took much longer for us to recover. The driver came down to see what had happened to us. We all turned to the Alter Rebbe and thanked and praised G-d and His loyal servant, the great tzaddik.
"When we returned to Israel a day later, we told our friends about the great miracle that had happened to Ezra. They all looked at him as a walking miracle."
Reprinted from Beis Moshiach Magazine.
