How to Cancel Harsh Decrees: Rabbi Shach's Surprising Advice

A man who experienced several severe tragedies in his family asked Rabbi Shach for advice on how to strengthen his observance in order to remove Divine anger from his family.

Rabbi Shach replied: "Accept upon yourself something small, with absolute consistency -- and my advice is to recite the Grace After Meals from a prayer book."

Rabbi Shach then related to the man an incident from the life of Rabbi Yitzchak Ze'ev HaLevi Soloveitchik of Brisk, who was known as the Brisker Rav. The Brisker Rav once fell ill, and his doctor told him to travel to Switzerland, as the clear mountain air would ease his breathing.

The doctor added that the Rabbi needed to walk a certain distance every morning to improve his lung function.

The Brisker Rav followed the doctor's advice, and a few weeks later returned for a check-up. The doctor was surprised to find that there was no significant improvement in his lung function.

When he asked the Rabbi whether he had followed his instructions to the letter, it became evident that the Brisker Rav was so meticulous with his use of time that he walked the prescribed distance as fast as he could so as to return to his studies. This meant that his lungs did not have a chance to absorb enough of the clear mountain air, and consequently there was no improvement in their function. The doctor advised the Brisker Rav to walk more slowly, using the time to study in a book that he would take with him. Only after properly resting and inhaling fresh air should he return home. The Brisker Rav followed this advice, and indeed his health improved.

Rabbi Shach concluded: The spiritual air that the Grace After Meals gives us is supposed to heal one's entire system. But if it is said hurriedly without contemplation, we cannot properly absorbed it. When we recite it from a prayer book, the blessings will be said slowly and with intention, and then they will have a positive and blessed influence.