A Hidden Act of Love: The Chafetz Chaim’s Silent Sacrifice

An amazing and touching story, found in the book HaMaggid HaMedaber, highlights the deep care and humility of one of the greatest Torah scholars of modern times, the Chafetz Chaim (Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan). Here's what happened:

One of the Chafetz Chaim’s students was diagnosed with a serious illness that threatened his life. The doctors were at a loss and said there was nothing more they could do. In despair, the young student turned to his rebbi, the Chafetz Chaim in the town of Radin, and asked him for a blessing.

The Chafetz Chaim listened attentively and then said he would give the student advice but only on one condition: he must promise never to tell anyone about it. The student immediately agreed.

The Chafetz Chaim told him to go visit a certain Torah scholar who lived in a small town. “Tell him about your condition and ask him for a blessing,” said the Chafetz Chaim. “He will bless you, and with Hashem’s help, you will recover.”

The young man followed the advice. He traveled to the scholar, asked for a blessing and incredibly, he soon recovered. He returned to the yeshiva (Torah study academy), resumed his learning, and eventually moved on in life, built a family, and kept his word. He never told anyone what had happened.

Over twenty years passed.

One day, the student’s sister-in-law fell ill with a mysterious disease. Eventually, the student realized it was the same illness he had suffered from so many years before but he said nothing.

His wife, however, remembered that he had once hinted about being gravely ill in the past. Each time she asked, he brushed it off. But now, as her sister’s condition worsened, she begged him to share what had really happened, hoping that his experience might help save a life.

At first, he resisted, saying it was a secret he wasn’t allowed to reveal. But as his wife and her family pleaded with him, his resolve weakened. After thinking it over, he decided that perhaps, after so many years, it was now allowed to share the story.

He told them everything: how the Chafetz Chaim had sent him to a hidden tzaddik (righteous man), and how he had recovered after receiving a blessing.

But soon after revealing the secret, the student himself began to feel ill again with the very same disease. Frightened, he rushed to Radin to see the Chafetz Chaim, who by then was already old and frail.

The Chafetz Chaim remembered him, listened carefully, and then said in a soft and gentle voice: “I wish I could help you… but what can I do? When you were sick the first time, I was still young. I fasted for forty days so that you would recover. But now, I am too old. I can’t fast anymore as I once did.”

These words leave us speechless. The Chafetz Chaim, with all his greatness, had quietly fasted for forty days for one student and never took credit. Instead, he directed the young man to another scholar to make it seem as if the healing came from there. Such humility, such love.

With leaders like this, full of humility and deep care, it’s no wonder the Jewish people have endured with such strength.

From “HaMaggid HaMedaber,” courtesy of the Dirshu website.