One Who Protects Shabbat Is Protected by Shabbat
A woman once asked me to bless her in the merit of my ancestors, zy”a. For some unknown reason, I asked her how her mother was faring. She was surprised at this question and wanted to know why I was asking.
“I myself do not know,” I responded. “Whatever word G-d puts into my mouth, that shall I speak!” (Bamidbar 22:38). In truth, I also wondered what made me ask after her mother, whom I didn’t know at all. But I had no explanation.
The woman took my words to heart and asked her mother to join us. When she arrived, the mother related that for the past few years, she felt the Attribute of Justice hovering over her family. Many family members had died in unusual ways, in road accidents or through strange illnesses. She alone was left to mourn their loss. The tears hot on her cheeks, this distraught woman asked for my blessing that she herself should not die in such a way, but merit a long, good life.
I replied, “I will bless you with long years, and you will resolve to keep Shabbat.”
Shabbat preserves a person from all illness. This is alluded to in the pasuk (Shemot 21:19), “רק שִבתו יתן ורפא ירפא – Only for his lost time shall he pay, and he shall provide for healing.” This pasuk refers to different types of damages. But if the pasuk is read רק שַבַתו יתן ורפא ירפא, it can be explained homiletically to mean the following: If a person dedicates his Shabbat to Hashem, and observes it meticulously, he is guaranteed healing and life.
