Healing with Hashem’s Help: One Man’s Battle and Recovery

Jacob Sharbit will never forget the moment he got the news. His daughter, Michal Porman, had been stabbed in a terror attack while shopping in a second-hand store in the town of Tekoa. At the time, Michal was 18 weeks pregnant.

“At first, we were told her condition was critical,” Jacob recalls. “Later we learned she was stable, but the situation was still very serious. We were especially worried about the baby.” Thankfully, just a month ago, Michal gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Even while going through this emotional time, Jacob didn’t pause his work, even his unusual cooperation with Arabs from nearby villages. Despite living in the settlement of Shiloh and having experienced terror firsthand, Jacob continues to treat Arab patients who come to him seeking natural remedies.

And the truth is, it was a visit to an Arab village that helped him discover the treatment method that would later save his own life.

“I Wanted to Heal Souls”
Though today Jacob looks every bit the part of a natural healer, his first career was in aeronautics. “I worked in the aircraft industry,” he says, “but eventually I realized planes don’t have souls and I wanted to treat people.” So he flew to the U.S. to study healing.

He chose to specialize in a field called apitherapy, healing with bee products and bee stings. “I learned from doctors around the world. Then I expanded into Chinese medicine, medicinal herbs, guided imagery, and more. The human body, I realized, is far more complex than any aircraft.”

But just as Jacob was mastering these skills, he began feeling unwell. At first, he tried to ignore it. But with everything he had learned, he knew something serious was going on. Hospital tests confirmed his suspicion: he had malignant tumors.

Even with his deep knowledge of natural remedies, he began standard chemotherapy treatments. They were extremely difficult. One of his hands became paralyzed, and doctors warned the cancer might return. “But for now,” they told him, “you’re healthy.”

The Bee Sting Breakthrough
The day Jacob left the hospital, he made a decision: he would search for a way to treat cancer more naturally. “I was hopeful bee stings could help,” he says. “I stung my paralyzed hand, and slowly, I began to move it again.”

At the same time, he began making teas and herbal remedies. One of his earliest patients came from a neighboring Arab village during the Intifada. “A four-year-old boy with leukemia was brought to me,” Jacob recalls. “Despite tensions, they got special permission to come. I bought the herbs myself and treated him every few days.”

Some people around him didn’t understand why he was helping an Arab child while Jews were under attack. But Jacob explains, “I thought, what if I were a Jew in Morocco and non-Jewish doctors refused to treat me? I just saw a child in need. I couldn’t ignore him.”

He also made one condition with the family: if they accepted the treatment, they must never support or engage in terrorism. They agreed.

Fasting, Bee Stings, and Emunah
Three years ago, Jacob faced cancer a second time. This time, he was less afraid. Doctors found three malignant tumors, but Jacob took a different path.

He began a 40-day fast, drinking only specific herbal teas and vegetable broths made from onions, carrots, and potatoes. “I was very hungry,” he says, “but I was determined to live. I even used guided imagery to imagine eating schnitzels and pizza.”

At the same time, he continued to use bee stings, and most importantly, he turned to Hashem in tefillah (prayer). “I begged Hashem to heal me. I knew only He could do it.”

And within two months, Jacob felt better. He went for a biopsy. The doctor, Professor Ofer Gofrit of Hadassah Hospital, confirmed the incredible news: “You have no cancer. It’s gone.”

Jacob left the office filled with emotion. Seeing so many patients in the waiting room, he wanted to shout: “Look for the true path to healing!” But he stayed quiet. “Not everyone can follow my method,” he explains. “It’s very demanding and requires strong faith in Hashem.”

A Healing Plant and a Grateful Call
The illness only pushed Jacob to learn more. In time, he discovered a powerful plant called salicornia, known to target and destroy cancer cells. “I found it near an Arab shepherd’s pen,” he shares. “Now I’m researching it with scientists to understand how it works.”

Today, Jacob continues to see patients often people who have tried every medical option and feel they have nowhere else to turn. He supports them gently, using a balanced diet, supplements, and, when safe, bee stings.

“Of course I don’t suggest my exact fast to everyone,” he says. “Some people need iron, vitamins, every case is different. And not all immune systems can handle bee stings.”

Recently, Jacob received a phone call that left him in tears. It was from a sixteen-year-old boy from Jenin, the very same child he had treated for leukemia twelve years earlier.

“He just wanted to thank me,” Jacob says. “He told me he’s healthy. That call meant everything to me.”

Jacob smiles. “I believe Hashem wants us to have compassion for every human being. That’s what brings healing into the world.”