During the last year of his life, a few weeks before the Yomim Noraim, the Chofetz Chaim left his hometown of Radin to rest up in a vacation town for a short while. He used his time there building up his strength in preparation or the Yomim Noraim, spending his days learning and serving Hashem with no disturbances.
While he was away, a family arrived in Radin, having traveled a long distance to see the Chofetz Chaim. They brought along their daughter, who was suffering from a severe mental illness. Her emotional malady had grown so severe that they had to tie her hands and feet so that she should break everything in her path. They made the long journey to Radin to get a bracha from the Chofetz Chaim for her to have a refuah, and they were dismayed to discover that he was not there and would not return for a while.
They begged the Chofetz Chaim’s family to have mercy on them and to take them to where he was staying. Filled with compassion for the unfortunate girl, they took them to the place where he was resting. As they approached the Chofetz Chaim, they removed the ropes from around the girl’s arms and legs and took her to ask for a bracha. As soon as she got within range, she grabbed his hat off his head and threw it to the ground, and she began to scream unintelligibly at him.
When the Chofetz Chaim saw this, he cried out, “Ribono Shel Olam, this is a Jewish girl! Please have mercy on her!” He then told the family, “You can return home. She will be all right.” One of those present asked the family for their address. After the Yomim Noraim, he made the trip to visit them and saw that the tzadik’s words had been fulfilled and the girl had returned to her full mental health.
Reprinted from the Parshas Matos-Massei 5785 email of The Way of Emunah based on the Torah Thoughts of Rabbi Meir Isamar Rosenbaum.
