Didi Harari on His Heart Attack: "I Closed My Eyes and Said to Hashem 'Whatever Will Be, Will Be'"

It happened on the eve of Yom Kippur. Radio host Didi Harari was playing with his grandson when he suddenly felt severe chest pains. "I ignored the pain, but my daughter didn't give up and called MDA."

When the paramedics arrived, they connected him to machines and told him: 'You're experiencing a heart attack right now.' At that moment, Harari closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and connected with his Creator. "I closed my eyes and said to the Creator of the World, 'Whatever will be, will be,'" Harari said, moving his thousands of listeners on his regular radio show.

As is well known, Harari is a believer, and in the past, he has often expressed that no matter how busy his schedule is, he never forgets his tefillin and the daily page of Talmud. "Finished reading the sports paper in the morning? Before you move on to the terrible news of what happened today, take a look at the daily page of Talmud. You'll get material for thought and can run with your day in a wonderful way."

In an interview with the site Pitzchipkes about two years ago, Harari said: "I'm interested in the metaphysical world, what's waiting for us afterward. This whole thing of starting the morning with prayer where you say 'Elohai, the soul you have given me is pure...' and everything that happens with it—gives me a much better feeling that someone is listening. That you're saying thank you for this morning that you opened your eyes."

"I Have a Plan, But if It Changes That's Totally Fine"

Harari continues and tells about a righteous figure mentioned in one of the Talmud sections he studied. "It's someone who leaves the house every morning saying, 'Master of the Universe, thank you very much for everything you give me today because everything you give me today is exactly what I need.' This is something very deep. I remember driving to the radio station and thinking all the way about this: What does it mean to thank for what you give me in advance because everything you give me is exactly what I need?!"

And that's precisely what he does every day. "I have a plan, but if it changes that's totally fine—because that's exactly how it should be," he asserts.

At Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, where he arrived, Harari was moved to intensive care. "It was the first time since I was 13 that I didn't fast on Yom Kippur," he said with regret. After the holiday, he successfully underwent catheterization and got a new heart. "On Yom Kippur, I found myself thinking about those people working in the hospital, working very hard, and how justified every strike they have is," he concludes, expressing gratitude to the medical staff who helped him come through it healthy and whole.

Watch what Didi Harari said about two years ago: