A Brother Like No Other
Another incident demonstrating my father’s far-reaching vision happened when I was approximately six years old. At that time, we were six children at home: my older brother and sister, myself, and my three younger sisters.
Throughout the years, family members would tease me and say, “What bad luck! You have three baby sisters and no younger brothers!” This type of statement caused me untold anguish.
I would ascend to my grandfather’s grave and pour out my heart to my Maker. I begged Him to make everyone stop their teasing, and added, “Let the next one born to our family be a boy.”
Father used to see my angst at this teasing and comfort me by saying, “Why are you distressed over such nonsense? Have no fear, B’ezrat Hashem, we will have another boy.” After some time, a boy joined our ranks. This is my brother, Avraham, shlita, who rescued me from the taunts of my tormentors.
Nowadays, when people reach a level of despondency and despair, they often suffer in silence. Some of them even commit suicide out of desperation. But we received a pure Jewish upbringing. We were taught that in every difficult situation, one must pray to Hashem. He alone can extricate a person from his hardships. Even as a very young child, I knew that the only solution to my discomfort was to pray to Hashem, Who can do anything.
