Rav A. Leib Scheinbaum relates an amazing story. A few years ago, a terrorist packed his car with 100 kilos of explosives, and parked it near a supporting pillar at the Cinemall in Haifa. However, it did not explode. Had his intentions to bring destruction actually came through, the tragedy would have been enormous and devastating.
Interior view of the Haifa Cinemall.
The explosion would have destroyed the support pillar of the mall, and it would have ignited countless fires in the other cars in the parking lot. This is one of the most popular malls in the area, and it was full at the time. We cannot even begin to contemplate the extent of the tragedy if that bomb had gone off.
An alert pedestrian had walked past this car and noticed smoke coming from it. He quickly notified the police, who brought in the bomb squad, and they diffused the bomb. Everyone, even Ehud Olmert, then the Prime Minister, recognized that they were spared by Hashem. This was clearly a miracle.
Rav Scheinbaum writes, “Now, for the rest of the story.” Several weeks prior to this occurrence, a teenage girl in Haifa had been suffering with stomach pains that would not go away. She went to the doctor, and after a battery of tests, she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor that had started to spread, R”L. The doctors gave their sad verdict, that they could not do anything at this point, other than give her pain medication to make her comfortable. They informed her that she had only a few weeks left to live.
However, the girl did not give up, and her parents did not give up. They might not have been observant Jews, but hope is an inherently Jewish value. They pleaded with the doctors to try something, anything, at least to make an effort to save their daughter’s life. They finally agreed, and surgery was scheduled for the next day.
Feeling that their chances for success were very low, they assigned a young, inexperienced surgeon to the case, with the feeling that it would be good practice for him. Since he had nothing to lose, the surgeon really could not go wrong.
The Non-Observant Girls Pleads for Mercy
The night before the surgery, this non-observant girl began to plead with Hashem. She said, “HaKadosh Baruch Hu, I am not perfect, and I probably do not deserve any favors from You. In ancient times, when we had a Bais HaMikdash, a person who sinned would confess his Aveirah and offer a Korban, and he would achieve atonement. Today, we have no Bais HaMikdash, no Korbanos, and no Kohanim, but I still want to bring a Korban.”
At that moment, she walked into her closet, removed all of her immodest clothing, and carried it out to her yard. She made a pile and lit it all on fire. She cried out, “Hashem, this is my Korban!”
Shared Her Miracle Story with Her Friends
The next day, the girl went to the hospital in her nightgown and robe. She had no other clothing to wear. Her entire wardrobe had been burned as a Korban. She had the surgery, and, to the doctor’s astonishment, the tumor had not metastasized. It was totally contained, and additionally, it was totally benign! It was a miracle!
When she shared the story with her friends, they also wanted to tap into this Brachah of dressing modestly.
The next day, they all came together, brought out all their immodest clothing, and made a bonfire. They offered their clothing as a Korban to Hashem. The girls were now left without anything presentable to wear. However, that is what malls are for. They all went together to celebrate their newly-accepted standards of Tzniyus and modesty, by shopping for new clothes. When that terrorist’s bomb was set to go off, it was precisely then that those girls were at the mall, shopping for new, modest clothing!
Reprinted from the Parshas Vayigash 5784 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’Tefilah.
