A Teen's Doctor Visit Turns Into a Life-Changing Moment

When Jane Frakes was a 13-year-old attending public school in Canada, she was shocked to learn she wasn't Jewish. The revelation came when she asked to join her friends at a Jewish school in Toronto, but her mother refused to pay the hefty tuition. "I'm absolutely not going to send you to such an expensive school when you're not even Jewish!" her mother said. "Yes, you heard right. According to Jewish law, if your mother isn't Jewish, neither are you. Since I'm not Jewish and only your father is, neither are you!"

"I didn’t really understand what Judaism was," Jane tells Aish HaTorah. "To be honest, I was more upset about not being able to be with my friends."

"At several different schools, I clung to the label of 'half-Jewish.' Many people were in the same 'half' boat with me, so it didn't affect my upbringing too much."

Years later, while in high school, Jane wanted to skip a written exam. She visited her family doctor to obtain a medical excuse to skip school. As she waited, the nurse asked why she was there, and Jane found herself embarrassed and speechless. So focused on dodging the test, she forgot to plan a convincing reason to see the doctor. "I quickly scanned my brain for ideas, but came up empty. Then I remembered a women's health pamphlet I read the night before. It was about breast cancer and how to properly conduct a self-exam," she recalls.

In desperation and embarrassment, she told the nurse, "I found a lump!" The nurse's eyes widened with urgency. "You need to see the doctor right away," she instructed, pushing Jane to the front of the line.

When Jane entered the doctor's office, she was pleased with herself: "I'll tell the doctor that I thought I found a lump and couldn't study for the test because of the stress, but then checked again in the morning and it was gone," she planned. But the doctor looked at her seriously: "Where did you find the lump?" he asked.

"No doctor, you don't understand, it just seemed like it. It's gone. Can you please give me a note for my teacher?" Jane responded.

"I need to examine you to be sure," replied the doctor.

"Okay, here," Jane said, pointing randomly at her body.

"Listen, you need to go to a surgical clinic and have it removed immediately; it's very large," stated the doctor, putting Jane into complete shock. She protested and pleaded with the doctor that her aim was just to get a note to skip the test, but the doctor insisted it was imperative to remove the lump immediately. There was no hint of a smile in the doctor's serious tone, leaving Jane speechless.

"What are the chances the doctor would find a lump exactly where I made one up?" Jane continues to recount. "I was paralyzed with fear. How did this happen? It doesn't make any sense; it's a one-in-a-billion coincidence! I had no time to analyze the situation – I had to deal with it."

"I was immediately sent to a nearby clinic specializing in that type of cancer. We found that the cancer hadn't yet affected my bloodstream, and there were no metastases elsewhere. I realized the discovery was just in time! The tumor was removed the same day, and I was completely clean from the disease. Because I discovered it so early, I didn't even need chemotherapy or treatments."

Jane continued her normal life, noting, "Such incidents are supposed to help us grow and gain more clarity in our lives, but often we just move on."

To understand this incredible coincidence, Jane joined a Birthright trip to Israel. "Before that, I had almost no connections with religious people and knew nothing about their way of life, but when I returned home, I was eager to deepen my knowledge of Judaism," she says.

A friend connected Jane with the local Aish HaTorah branch, and she began to learn. "I was so impressed that Judaism encouraged my questions. Finally, I could put my story into a meaningful context. My belief in Hashem strengthened, and I felt more confident than ever in His control over my life's events," Jane says.

"I also examined my 'half-Jewish' identity and embarked on a journey that eventually led to my conversion. I took it step by step, and two years later, I converted with full support from my family and friends. I became an active member of Aish HaTorah and eventually met my husband on a trip to Israel."

"Sometimes life can feel like one big coincidence," she says, "but in retrospect, we can see there’s something much greater than ourselves working behind the scenes and watching over us. That’s one of the main ideas we need to internalize. After all, nothing is by chance."

"I searched for the master artist to explore his work, and when I found Hashem in the middle of the museum, I fell in love forever. I left there a different person, and it was clear I had to change my life's course and my consciousness": 30 years later, Nurit Sirkis Bank shares her inspiring return story. Watch her conversation with Sharon Rotter:

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