The Boy Who Stepped Aside—and Found a Miracle

When the gabbai realized he’d double-booked two bar-mitzvah boys for Parshat Yitro—both had practiced for months—young Shlomo’s father calmly said, “Let the other boy read this week. Shlomo will learn Mishpatim and read next Shabbat.” Shlomo, though disappointed after hours of memorizing the ancient verses and cantillation, agreed without complaint. His simple act of stepping aside meant one friend could celebrate, and Shlomo quietly began preparing the next parsha.
Four years later, Shlomo found himself beside his ailing mother in the hospital’s internal medicine ward. That Shabbat the late Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was also hospitalized there, and his aides searched for someone to chant the Torah in his room. They spotted Shlomo and asked if he could read. Shlomo hesitated—he wasn’t an expert—but then remembered he knew Parshat Mishpatim by heart. He agreed and chanted flawlessly. Afterward the Rabbi praised his precise, beautiful reading and asked, “Why are you here?” Shlomo explained his mother’s mysterious illness. Rabbi Elyashiv said, “A specialist flew in to treat me. I will ask him to examine your mother in thanks for your reading.”
By Sunday the visiting expert had diagnosed a rare but treatable condition. With clear instructions for her care, Shlomo’s mother was discharged, healthy and whole. Word reached Rabbi Michl Yehuda Lefkowitz, who noted that just as Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua was saved because he stepped aside, so Shlomo’s quiet generosity paved the way for his mother’s salvation. A single act of kindness may lie dormant for years—but in Hashem’s time, it always brings blessings.