As we know about the verse: "When a man dies in a tent" (Bamidbar 19:14), our rabbis expounded that the Torah is fulfilled only by one who kills himself on it. The following is a wonderful story that teaches us how much we must take advantage of every moment of our lives in order to merit more and more learning the holy Torah.
This is the most common disease that causes the onset of dementia, that is, the disease causes the degeneration of brain cells responsible for cognitive functions and causes short-term and long-term memory loss, as well as impairs thinking, concentration, language, the ability to understand instructions, etc. And as such, he has no possibility of participating in family events. This problem of the grandfather caused great sorrow to the entire family, especially since he was a great Torah scholar, whose appearance would have honored the entire family.
Ahead of the wedding of one of the granddaughters, they searched for a certain remedy that would bring a cure to the grandfather's illness. They searched, demanded, and investigated, and finally found. After many inquiries, a rumor reached their ears about a certain drug that has the power to return the Alzheimer's patient to a completely healthy state, and this is only for a few hours. In summary, a wedding does not last more than a few hours, so the family members came up with the idea of purchasing the medicine for the grandfather, so that he would be able to rejoice with all his descendants. And from thought to fact, they inquired where the drug could be obtained, and when they got there, they were amazed to hear the price... It was a real huge fortune, which amounted to thousands of dollars for one bullet!
When they heard the price, some of the family members began to retract their decision, and struggled very much about it. After all, in the end, the pill is only useful for a few hours. And in light of the fact that the price of the pill is skyrocketing, the discussion among the family members was: Does the feasibility of the pill exceed the price of the pill and the investment? After a joint meeting among the family members, they decided that they were investing the thousands of dollars, the main thing was that the grandfather would be able to participate in the wedding.
And indeed, this miracle happened in a miraculous way before their eyes. The grandfather took the medicine, and he was truly an ordinary man. Those who knew about his illness were amazed to see him functioning normally, without any problem. The wonders of Hashem.
The grandfather was privileged to participate in his granddaughter's chuppah, received a blessing after it, and the joy skyrocketed. For a long time, members of the extended family had not been privileged to see their grandfather participate in the celebrations. And behold, a short time after the chuppah, the grandfather suddenly disappeared from the hall! The family members were frightened and did not know what had happened. After all, they remembered that the grandfather was actually seriously ill with Alzheimer's disease, and it was possible, they feared, that the effect of the pill had ended prematurely, and perhaps that too because of the "high code" of the disease found in the grandfather.
Fifteen minutes, half an hour, and more, passes, and the grandfather does not return. Needless to say, all the joy has stopped, and everyone has been looking for the grandfather everywhere possible. But, to his astonishment and sorrow, it is as if the earth has "swallowed him." When they searched all the "holes and cracks" of the wedding hall, and found pottery, the family members set out to search the nearby areas outside the wedding hall. Until, suddenly, when one of the grandchildren opened the door of... In a certain beit midrash, to his astonishment, he finds his grandfather sitting and studying... On the spot, he summons all the family members to the beit midrash.
One can only imagine the great joy that gripped them when they found the great grandfather. They all ran quickly to the same beit midrash. However, immediately after the moments of joy when they saw the great grandfather, the bride's parents, son and daughter-in-law turn to the grandfather and say to him: "Grandpa, what happened to you? After all, we invested thousands of dollars so that you could participate in the celebration with us? And if so, why don't you be with us in the celebration hall? Everyone is waiting for you there." "Isn't this a waste of time in your eyes? After all, every minute that the pill affects you is worth a fortune, and soon the effect of the medicine will pass! Come with us to joy, and we will all rejoice together!"
But the grandfather refuses to get up. He looks up at his parents, and at all those who have gathered around him, and tries to persuade him, and says to them: "Do you think this is a waste of time? What happened to you? Didn't I teach you all my years that the holy Torah is the most precious object in the world, and that every word that you learn is worth a thousand thousand thousand times more than anything else?!" He added: "Until I get a few hours of silence from my illness, and I have the opportunity to concentrate on studying, do you want me to waste my precious time and come to attend the wedding?"
The descendants, for their part, continued to beg and beg the great-grandfather, but he stuck to his decision and remained to study and delve into the holy Torah in the beit midrash.
