"The Disease Shrunk": Itzik Kala Reveals the Miracle That Happened Thanks to Prayers at Samuel's Tomb

It started with a small, almost unnoticeable swelling in the neck. "I thought it would pass, but then I saw it worsening and learned I had the disease," recalls singer Itzik Kala, who recently miraculously recovered from cancer.

Regarding the surprising circumstances that led to the disease, Kala says it was unexpected for "a person who has been exercising for 40 years and never smoked in his life."

How does such a person, who has performances daily across the country, cope with a disease that strikes out of nowhere? "You feel helpless, you don't know what to do," he says in an interview with Avi Shoshan from 'Yediot Aharonot'. "I had no choice but to cancel all my performances, except for one in Jerusalem that was sold out. I couldn't cancel it because I didn't want it to become public."

"What spoke to me was being as close as possible to Hashem"

"You have such a performance with ten musicians, and you know the hall is packed to the brim - and you have to perform, and no one knows you have this severe disease. The next day, you have to start treatments. I don't wish it on anyone in the world."

Then an idea flashed in his mind. "I will go to the tomb of Samuel the Prophet and talk to him. He will send a message to Hashem. I prostrated on his tomb, and cried my heart out. I prayed, saying: 'Do me a favor, let me get through this performance so no one will notice.'"

What was the first song he opened that performance with? To this day, when he remembers it, tears of emotion fill his eyes. "I remember when I sang the first song, I was literally trembling. It was the song 'I am the servant.' What resonated with me was being as close as possible to Hashem. I am a servant, standing opposite. And you, Hashem, are the light of my eyes. I am the traveler, you are the King, light my path ahead.' It was very, very difficult, yet the audience didn't feel a thing. It was one of the most beautiful performances I've ever had, and I attributed it to the faith in the righteous one's tomb."

Approaching the fifth treatment - I was already starting to collapse

He says he felt supported and strengthened by Hashem and his messenger - Samuel the Prophet. "That faith on that day helped me. I returned home, crying with myself until dawn, and in the morning they took me to Hadassah Hospital. I began receiving intense treatments, and by about the fifth treatment, I was already starting to collapse.

"My whole neck burned, my head was scorched. You are helpless. There are stages where you ask, you say: 'Master of the Universe.' But because I am a man of faith, I accepted everything with great love, from Hashem. I would look up to the sky and cry, sing to Hashem. I pleaded: 'Let me return to music, because without music I cannot.'"

Kala received the news about the shrinking disease at the home of Minister Moshe Kahlon's late mother, where the two share a good friendship. "I am a good friend of Moshe Kahlon, and his mother passed away. I went to comfort him, and I received a phone call with the answer I so longed for: that thank God I am much better. So I told Moshe: the disease has shrunk, and his eyes filled with tears. We hugged out of excitement, and I told him: 'I received this news here, at your righteous mother's house, and I will never forget it.'"

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