She Let Go of Her Sorrow for One Shabbat—and Everything Changed

“A year and a half ago, on Rosh Chodesh Shevat (the beginning of the Jewish month of Shevat), I was spending Shabbat at a hotel near the Dead Sea,” begins Rabbi Chaim Zaid. “After Friday night prayers, a man approached me. His face was filled with worry. ‘Rabbi, please help me,’ he said. ‘How can I help?’ I asked. He explained, ‘My wife won’t come down to the dining room for the Shabbat meal. We’ve been trying for years to have children and went through many treatments. Just an hour before Shabbat, the hospital called. The last treatment failed. This was our final hope. And now, my wife is completely broken. She refuses to eat, refuses to come down. She’s given up.’”

“I asked him to let her know I wanted to speak with her. While he went upstairs, I prayed to Hashem to guide my words. When she came down, she was heartbroken and drained. Her tears had dried up. I looked at her and gently said, ‘I want to tell you something that could bring you a blessing. We’re now by the Dead Sea. Do you know its other name in Hebrew? Yam HaMavet—the Sea of Death. Why is it called that? Because it’s like the salty tears of despair. Nothing can grow in it. Nothing lives in it. When a person only cries and focuses on sadness, they invite more sorrow. But a person who chooses to bring joy into their heart—even when it’s hard—opens the door to life. Joy brings life. Joy creates blessing.’”

“I continued: ‘Shabbat is a holy and powerful day. It holds deep spiritual light. If we can show Hashem that we are choosing to celebrate Shabbat with joy—even while in pain—that joy can turn into salvation. Hashem sees everything. And Shabbat has the power to bring blessing when we welcome it with happiness.’ I reminded her of the verse: ‘Joy and gladness shall be found there, and sorrow and sighing shall flee.’ I wasn’t giving advice from myself—I was just passing on the words Hashem placed in my mouth.”

“With great strength, that woman chose to take on the challenge. She came down to the dining room with her husband. Not only that—she began to spread light and warmth to others. She went from table to table, wishing people ‘Good Shabbat’ and greeting everyone with kindness. She transformed the atmosphere around her.”

“Exactly one year later, on the 20th of Tevet, I was returning from the city of Nahariya when my phone rang. I answered, and on the other end I heard a tearful voice. ‘Rabbi Zaid! Do you remember me?! I’m the man from the Dead Sea… My wife was heartbroken that Shabbat. You told her to be joyful. Rabbi, I called to tell you—this past Shabbat, during Parshat Vayechi, we had a baby boy!’ I could hardly speak. Tears welled in my eyes. ‘Baruch Hashem (Thank G-d), blessed is His name forever,’ I said. ‘She gave everything she had to bring joy into Shabbat—and Hashem gave her life in return. On Shabbat itself.’”

“This is advice I give in the name of great tzaddikim—righteous people of our generation,” Rabbi Zaid continues. “They taught us that the holiness of Shabbat can pull any Jew out of darkness. Shabbat is the source of all blessing. Are you looking for your soulmate? Children? Health? Shabbat is the source. And one of the most powerful ways to connect to Shabbat is through joy.”

“The holy Chid”a (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai) wrote: ‘If a person puts away their worries before Shabbat and fills their heart with joy, Hashem will take care of the rest.’ When someone honors Shabbat—Shabbat honors them. When we show Hashem that we love this day, even in hard times, He showers us with blessing.”

“Shabbat,” Rabbi Zaid concludes, “is a day when we put away our tears—and in that space, healing begins.”