One Family’s Wake-Up Call: The Blessing of Shabbat

A serious breach took place in the town of Lutsk. A young man from a respected family had purchased a small taxi to drive passengers from the town to the nearby train station. But soon, to everyone's sadness, he started giving rides even on Shabbat. He would drive past the time Shabbat began on Friday, and start again before Shabbat ended.

The townspeople, including the great Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, were heartbroken. They felt pain not only for the young man who had lost his way, but also for his father, a respected Torah-observant Jew who suddenly became very sick and was taken to a large hospital in Vilna.

One day, Rabbi Zalman happened to be in Vilna, waiting at the train station to greet the Chofetz Chaim, the respected scholar. While waiting, he was stunned to see none other than the sick man, the father of the young driver standing there.

“What are you doing here?” Rabbi Zalman asked in shock. “You’re dangerously ill, why would you come to the train station?”

The man explained that he had experienced a terrifying dream the night before, while lying in the hospital. It shook him so much that he got out of bed and hurried to the station to go to Radin. In his dream, he had seen his grandmother, who had passed away many years earlier. She appeared clearly and firmly told him: “You’re chasing after doctors in vain. Get up from your bed and go to the Chofetz Chaim. Ask for his blessing and he will heal you!”

“You are very fortunate,” Rabbi Zalman told him. “You don’t need to travel to Radin. The Chofetz Chaim is here right now, at this station.”

Rabbi Zalman hurried to find the Chofetz Chaim’s grandson, Rabbi Hillel Ginzburg. He quickly explained what had happened and asked him to use this rare moment to bring up the serious breach in Shabbat observance caused by the man’s son.

But Rabbi Hillel hesitated, and before he could act, the sick man himself approached the Chofetz Chaim to ask for a blessing for healing.

“It was a powerful and emotional scene,” Rabbi Zalman later described. “The Chofetz Chaim was sitting in a train car, the sick man stood before him, while Rabbi Hillel and I watched from the side, listening quietly to their conversation.”

The sick man poured out his heart. He explained that doctors had been unable to help him for over a year. The night before, the pain had been so great that he had fallen into a deep sleep and dreamed of his grandmother from the World of Truth. She had pleaded with him to forget the doctors and go straight to the Chofetz Chaim for a blessing.

The Chofetz Chaim, however, did not react as expected. He rose from his seat and said firmly: “What do you want from me? Who am I, Israel Meir, to give you a blessing that can heal you? Heaven forbid! Blessings are not in my power!”

The man was taken aback, but he quickly gathered himself. Through tears, he insisted that the Chofetz Chaim always signed his name “Israel Meir HaKohen,” and that the Kohanim (descendants of the priests in the Temple) were given the duty to bless the Jewish people.

A deep silence fell. After a few moments, the Chofetz Chaim replied thoughtfully: “I do have advice for you. You want a complete healing, but do you know where blessings come from? From the holy Shabbat. It is written clearly in the Torah: ‘And Hashem blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.’ So why are you looking for a blessing from Israel Meir instead of receiving the blessing that comes from Shabbat itself?”

“I was amazed at what I heard,” Rabbi Zalman added. “The Chofetz Chaim had understood exactly what I was thinking and was now speaking directly to the point.”

The Chofetz Chaim continued: “If you accept upon yourself to truly keep Shabbat and then still want a blessing from Israel Meir, I will give it to you as well. But if you want a blessing from me without taking on the blessing of Shabbat, it will not help you. Such a blessing will do nothing!”

Then he went even further: “If you say that you already observe Shabbat carefully, that’s good. But in the Ten Commandments it says: ‘You shall not do any work, you, your son, or your daughter.’ The Torah makes clear that the responsibility is not just yours. A father is also responsible for the Shabbat observance of his children. If you keep Shabbat but your son, Heaven forbid, does not, then you cannot receive the full blessing of Shabbat, which is the source of all blessings.”

Upon hearing these words, the man broke down in tears. He admitted that it was true that his son was indeed not keeping Shabbat. Now he understood why his grandmother had appeared to him in the dream. In the World of Truth, she was ashamed that her grandson was not keeping Shabbat. She had sent him to the Chofetz Chaim so he would hear this truth.

With deep emotion, the man cried out: “Rabbi, I promise to fix this. I will do everything I can to strengthen Shabbat observance in my home. I will beg my son. I’ll give him everything I have, my money, my property, on the condition that he keeps Shabbat. I swear, I’ll do everything in my power.”

Rabbi Zalman concluded the moving story: “The man received the Chofetz Chaim’s blessing and not long after, he recovered. He shared the story with his family, and when his son heard what had happened, he was filled with regret. He turned away from his past and came back to the path of Torah and Shabbat.”

Courtesy of the Dirshu website