Our power is only in our mouths – the power of prayer (Kol Barama, issue 345)
A man who works in the Western Wall Tunnels wrote the following story:
We have an acquaintance in the community whose husband was diagnosed with a 4 cm (non-malignant) brain tumor a few months ago. Of course, they decided to operate on him. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor, and then another operation because something got complicated. He was told that he would need a third operation to close the story. When I learned of his condition, I added his name to the list of people I pray for in front of the Holy of Holies. Every tour of the tunnels, I allow the group a few moments of prayer in front of the Holy of Holies, and I take the opportunity to recite Tehillim and pray for Klal Yisrael, including the names on the list I have.
On Tuesday of the week, he underwent the third operation that was supposed to be simple. And on Friday, his condition suddenly became complicated and critical. He was taken for urgent surgery on Saturday. On Tuesday of this week, he woke up and told his wife that he wanted me to visit him. I was a little surprised by the request, but I still expected him to ask people closer to him to come and visit. I didn't get to go anyway, but on Friday afternoon, I called him to ask how he was doing. I found out that he had been discharged from the hospital for "leave" and he was at home on Shabbat... So, I went to visit him on Friday night after prayers.
We started talking and then he said to me, "I saw you." I asked where? And he answered simply, "Upstairs." It turns out that he was already with a foot and a half in the world of truth. He said that he (his soul) was sitting in a kind of "waiting room" with a few others who were in his situation. He said that their gravity works the other way around... The soul is drawn upwards. He saw the Angel of Death and said that everyone who knew him was taken away by him and moved on to the "next stage." And while he is waiting to see what will happen to him, he suddenly begins to see some familiar faces of people praying for him – the rabbi of Chabad, his synagogue in the United States, a group of women in the community who recite Tehillim, and me... And he told how he felt like all those prayers were just pulling him down, like a game of tug-of-war when in the end the prayers won. He was told he was coming back here.
Needless to say, I was stunned. I always wondered how much influence prayers have in the upper worlds, and here I got a simple, clear, and sharp answer. How can a few moments of prayer at the Western Wall from a simple Jew be the difference between life and death? I felt that I had to share this story with everyone because it strengthened me personally. We, as guides and workers of the Western Wall Tunnels, who are privileged to be at the holiest point at the Western Wall, can easily "cool down" and forget where we are, what is the power of where we are, and what is the power of prayer. In any case, it also sometimes has implications for how we convey the sanctity of the place and the importance of prayer in general and in this place in particular to the groups we guide. I very much hope that this story will strengthen all of us. And of course, I would be happy if you would distribute it to the public.
