The deeply concerned parents brought their ill child to Reb Yechezkel of Shineva zy”a, the oldest son of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz zy”a. All the doctors had despaired of finding a cure for the child’s illness, and they claimed his days were numbered, but Reb Yechezkel didn’t agree. “Hashem can do anything,” he assured them. “He can bring your child a cure even from the other end of the world!” As tzaddikim often bring about yeshuos through telling stories, the Rebbe proceeded to relate the following story:
Pinch’e Ketzin was a tremendously wealthy man. He built himself a cellar and installed a trap in the iron door, so that if a thief entered, the door would lock behind him, trapping him within. The cellar was used as a large safe, and no one but Pinch’e ever entered it. One day, Pinch’e went into the cellar to get something, forgetting to bring the keys with him. The trapdoor locked him inside. He shouted and screamed, but no one answered. There was no one to hear him. All his money and all his gold could not help him out of his predicament. When he saw that his fate was sealed, he pricked himself and wrote with his own blood on the iron door: “The great gvir Pinch’e Ketzin died of hunger, with all his possessions before his eyes.”
His family members worried about him and searched for him wherever they thought he might be, until they finally concluded that he had died. His three sons went down to the cellar to deal with their inheritance. When they broke open the door they found their father, lifeless. After giving him a proper Jewish burial, they had to deal with the challenge of dividing up the inheritance. Besides the money and many treasures, there was a very precious rare gem that was worth a tremendous amount. How could they possibly divide up the gem between them?
After much deliberation, they decided that they would offer to sell the gem to the Turkish sultan. The brothers traveled for several weeks until they arrived in Istanbul, went in to the sultan and showed him the stone. He offered to pay a certain sum for it. The brothers thought, however, that the gem was worth at least a third more than what he wanted to pay them, but the sultan would not budge. The bargaining continued, but no compromise was reached. The brothers left the sultan’s home to search for lodgings. They entered a Jewish motel, sat in their room, and attempted to make some calculations, but the incessant cries of a baby from the next room disturbed them. The baby would not stop crying, and one of the brothers went to the next room to find out what the problem was.
He discovered that the baby was ill and was suffering. His parents sat helpless at his side. “I have a beautiful, precious gem with me,” he said. “Perhaps the baby will enjoy holding it and will calm down.” He gave the baby the gem, and the baby relaxed. He went back to speak to his brothers, and several hours later he took the gem back from the baby, whose features were transformed. He looked lively and smiling, healthy and happy. The parents said they thought the gem was a miraculous cure, since for several weeks they hadn’t seen their son smiling the way he was today.
Toward evening the brothers decided there was no point in waiting for the sultan to agree to their price. There was no one else who would be able to pay the price the sultan was offering. They went to the palace and agreed to the sultan’s offer. When they handed him the gem, however, the sultan looked puzzled and then grew angry. “This is not the gem you showed me this morning. It was sparkling with a rainbow of color, and now it looks like a fake.” The brothers examined the gem, and they were amazed to see that it had lost its sparkle and uniqueness, for indeed it had contained a potent power to cure the sick child, and all of its unique potency had been transferred to the baby.
The Rebbe concluded his story and then told the anxious parents, “Do you see that Hashem can bring someone a cure from the other end of the world?”
As Yidden who are believers, the sons of believers, we are commanded to strengthen ourselves in the emunah that He alone creates cures. That very same day, the parents heard that a famous doctor was arriving from another country. They brought their to him, and that doctor healed their son with an innovative cure.
Let’s consider this story: If someone had told the parents who were staying in the motel that there was one gem in the world that contained in it the segulah to heal their son, the parents might have despaired completely, chas v’shalom! But the parents didn’t know about this. They just sat and davened innocently, from the depths of their hearts, to the Creator of all cures, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu in His mercy brought about all the circumstances so that the rare precious gem was brought to the baby without the parents even sensing the greatness of the miracle.
We can apply this to every matter in our daily lives. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is great, and everyone believes that He is kol yachol and that there is nothing that can prevent Him from saving us, and He answers his nation Yisrael when they cry out to him, wherever they might be.
