The message from the Magid of Mezritch caused a doctor to become a Baal Teshuva.
The Magid of Mezritch, Rav Dov Ber, was the talmid of the Baal Shem Tov and his successor, He was niftar 19 days of Kislev 5532. He traveled around preaching the ways of the Baal Shem Tov. He was very successful and recruited many great Chassidic future leaders. The elite group of talmidim were referred to as the "Chevraya Kaddisha" ("Holy Society"), included Harav Aaron Hagadol of Karlin, Harav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya and founder of Chabad, Rav Shlomo of Karlin, Harav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, Harav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, Harav Elimelech of Lizhensk, Rebbe Zusha of Hanipol, Rebbe Shmelka and Harav Pinchas Horowitz of Frankfurt-am-Main. They too traveled and spread the word of the Magid.
Many Misnagdim, opposers of Chassidus, would meet the Magid to have dialogues with him, as the Magid was very well respected, being a Torah scholar and a big Tzaddik. Once, a well-respected Misnaged from Vilna decided to visit the Magid after hearing of his great statute. The trip was a long one, and when he came to Mezritch, he scheduled a meeting, and they both had a very warm discussion. As the meeting was coming to an end, the Magid told the Yid from Vilna: I want to give you a bit of advice that will help you immensely. The Yid agreed to hear what the Magid had to say. The Magid said you should know that when a person becomes ill and summons a doctor to heal, the doctor has no power to heal. The power comes from an angel that comes together with the doctor. Therefore, when you become ill, see that you summon the best doctor that you can find since, with a big doctor, the angel Refael, who is the angel of healing, comes along with the doctor. The doctor would not heal you. The angel Refael would heal you! The meeting concluded, and the Yid from Vilna left the magid.
The Yid began to digest what he had heard from the magid. However, he was disturbed by what the magid warned him about doctors when he was a very healthy and young person. He wasn't able to understand what the Magid meant! The Yid was at first worried, but as he traveled back home, he shrugged off the words of the Magid, and when he came home, he totally erased the thoughts from his mind.
The Yid came home, and his friends greeted him, asked how the meeting with the Magid went, and said that he was truly impressed. One day he suddenly became ill, and he went to his doctor, who wasn't able to find out what the exact illness was. However, the Yid became very sick and went to another doctor, who wasn't able to diagnose the illness and could not give a medicine to cure the Yid. In Vilna, word spread of the sudden severe illness of the Yid, who was very prominent, and a big Baal Tzeddaka and the Rabbanim asked everyone to pray for the speedy recovery of the Yid.
The situation was bitter, and the Chavra Kadisha was called to be ready to tend to the Yid. A crowd of people came to the home of the Yid to say tehilim and pray. Meanwhile, an announcement came on the streets that the King of Preisen was coming to Vilna. One of the Rabbanim advised that a large delegation go to the King, telling him that a prominent person is very sick and asking if the King would be kind enough to send his personal doctor to visit the sick Yid. Maybe, being a big doctor, he may be able to cure the sick person. The King was a good-hearted person, had feelings, and agreed to have his doctor visit the Yid.
The doctor came and took a look at the sick person, got very angry, and said, I am only a doctor. I cannot keep a dying person alive! The doctor wanted to leave the room, but there was a large crowd in the room who came to witness a miracle by the doctor. The doctor wasn't able to push through the crowd and had to stay put. The doctor had no choice and decided to wait a while. After 10 minutes, the doctor took a look at the sick person and was astonished to see some life coming back to the sick person.
The doctor, who was a Jew, decided to examine the patient and asked everyone to leave the room. He said there is a chance that I may be able to save this person. Everyone left the room, and the doctor began examining the sick person. The doctor began a sigh of relief and quickly wrote a prescription and ordered to get the prescription filled out at a pharmacy. This brought hope to the people of Vilna. The pharmacist took some time filling out the prescription. The doctor looked at the patient, examined him again, and noticed he was out of danger. He wrote a different prescription and sent it to the pharmacy.
This same scenario happened again as the doctor was waiting for the prescription. He again noticed a strong improvement in the state of the sick person. Again, he writes a different prescription. This happened a few times. The doctor was shocked that he had never encountered such a case. When finally the Yid from Vilna awoke and saw the doctor, he reminded himself of what the Magid of Mezritch told him. He immediately told the doctor what the Magid had told him: that with a big doctor, the angel Refael comes along. Neither the doctor nor the medicine gives the cure. The cure comes from the angel Rafael!
The Yid, all of a sudden, was a healthy person and confessed to the doctor that he disregarded the words of the Magid as nonsense. Now I see that he is a great tzaddik who foresaw what would happen, and that saved my life. The doctor was grateful to hear the words and asked where the magid lives. The doctor was overwhelmed and made the trip to Mezritch, where he met the Magid. After the meeting, the doctor became a baal Teshuva and traveled very often to the Magid. Back in Vilna, this miracle caused many to visit the Magid too.
