From Silent Pain Came a Joyful New Life

Sometimes, what seems like a painful moment turns out to be the doorway to something beautiful.

Rabbi David Perioff shared a deeply moving story that’s hard to forget. About a year ago, he attended a large gathering where something uncomfortable happened: a man stood up and publicly humiliated another participant, shouting at him in front of everyone. The room fell silent, and the man who was insulted turned pale but said nothing in return. He just stood quietly and absorbed the moment.

After the event, Rabbi Perioff turned to his father with an unusual suggestion. His brother had been waiting for a child for over nine years, and Rabbi Perioff remembered what our sages say: when someone is shamed and chooses not to answer back, the gates of heaven open to their prayer. He urged his father to ask the shamed man for a blessing—for his brother to have a child.

Without hesitation, his father approached the quiet, humiliated man and asked for a heartfelt blessing. The man, a Torah scholar, gave it gently. Nobody around them knew what was going on—but something shifted in that moment.

Exactly nine months later, without any medical intervention, the long-awaited baby boy was born.

“Of course, the many prayers, acts of charity, and the tears of family and friends helped bring about this miracle,” Rabbi Perioff reflected. “But it was that moment—so raw, so painful—that seemed to be the turning point. It broke through the heavens.”

Rabbi Perioff also shared another powerful story, one that took place at a Shabbat gathering he led in Ramat Gan. The atmosphere was uplifting, with men and women attending—separately, of course. In the middle of his talk, a woman from behind the divider suddenly began shouting at him, cursing him loudly, one curse after another.

“It was jarring,” Rabbi Perioff said, “and for a second I wasn’t sure what would happen next.”

Then, from across the room, a tall young man stood up and strode purposefully toward the front. Rabbi Perioff braced himself—but instead of confronting the shouting, the man turned to him and said, “Please bless me to find my match.”

Touched and surprised, Rabbi Perioff gave him a sincere blessing. “Suddenly everyone wanted a blessing,” he laughed. “They saw something powerful had just happened.”

Within a year, that young man was married.

These stories remind us that even in moments of tension, pain, or uncertainty, something higher might be unfolding—something we can’t yet see, but that’s already in motion. Sometimes the quietest acts, like holding back from anger or giving a blessing in humility, open the door to miracles.