Touching: The Waiter Who Served the Woman Was the Soldier She Prayed For During Operation Protective Edge, Unknowingly

An amazing story about the power of prayer: Betsy and Simon, a Jewish couple living in the U.S., decided to visit Israel. During their stay, they dined at an upscale restaurant in Herzliya called 'Meat & Wine' -- a two-story establishment. Initially seated on the first floor, Betsy asked the waiters if they could move to the upper floor. "We just want to see the view," she explained.

They were given a table upstairs, where a different waiter came to serve them. "We sat down, and our waiter approached to tell us about the house specials," Betsy recalls. "We talked and laughed, and when he was done with our order and walked away, he said, 'By the way, if you need anything, my name is Barak.'"

Hearing his name, Betsy's eyes lit up differently. "Immediately, I was wrapped in a strong feeling, and I turned to Simon and said, 'We have to know his mother's name.'"

Simon, like any good husband wanting to make his wife happy, raised his hand and called, "Hey, Barak, is your mother's name Orna?"

Barak was surprised. "Yes! How do you know my mother's name?" he replied.

"I heard him say it, but I didn't process what I was hearing," Betsy says with visible excitement. "It was like seeing a story unfold before your eyes, yet not really hearing what's being said. That's how I felt. I asked him, 'What did you say?' and he repeated, 'Orna.'"

The next question was logical. "Did you, by any chance, fight last summer in the Gaza war?" Betsy asked him.

What did Barak reply? You guessed it. "Yes," was his answer. "How do you know?"

Betsy turned to Hashem and said, "I'm praying for Barak, not even knowing if he's alive"

"How do I know?" the excited cry escaped Betsy's lips. "What do you mean, how do I know? Your name is hanging on my kitchen cabinet," Betsy said, struggling to hide the tears of excitement in her eyes.

It turns out that during the fighting in Gaza, organizations in Israel called the homes of Jews in the U.S. and gave them names of soldiers fighting in Gaza to pray for. The name I was given to pray for was Barak son of Orna.

Even more amazing is that two weeks prior, she had entered her kitchen, saw Barak's name on the note on the cabinet, and prayed for him. In that prayer, she turned to Hashem and said, "You know, I don't even know if he's alive. It would be nice to meet him and see how he's doing."

"It's amazing that out of all the restaurants in Herzliya, we ended up in this one, on the second floor, and he was our waiter," says Betsy. "There is a very powerful message here for me, that Hashem is here. Right here next to me."

"Betsy prayed that I would return home safely, and I did," says Barak. "When you realize someone is praying for you to come back, it really warms your heart."

When Betsy returned to the U.S., she was surprised to get an email from Barak. "He told me that the day after, he began putting on tefillin -- something he hadn't done in years," she said.

"I felt it was a sign from Hashem," Barak says. "It's simply unbelievable."

Watch the touching story (in English):