Lost and Found
Mrs. Georgette Elkayam, a family relative, told me the following story about the Ben-Muchah family from New York. On one of their visits to Eretz Yisrael, they stayed at a hotel in Haifa. One day, Mrs. Ben-Muchah discovered, much to her dismay, that her very expensive camera, as well as a good pair of shoes, had disappeared. The family searched in every corner and crevice, but could not find the items anywhere. She finally turned to the hotel management and filed a theft.
- Delivering a shiur to the Ashdod Kollel Orot Chaim VeMoshe, at the grave of the tzaddik, Rabbi Chaim Pinto Hagadol, zy”a
The hotel manager, hearing of the incident, made a search of the room. He, too, could not find the things. He offered her monetary compensation and asked that she keep quiet about the whole thing, in order not to damage the hotel’s reputation.
When their visit to the Holy Land came to an end, the family returned to New York. After a short respite, they again packed their bags. This time, their destination was Morocco. They were traveling with their daughter to the hilula of the tzaddik, Rabbi Chaim Pinto, in order to pray for her to find her intended match in the near future. Additionally, they asked Hashem to send some sort of sign that their prayers were accepted.
The hotel where this family was staying was close to the grave of Rabbi Chaim Pinto. As soon as the couple entered their room, what did they discover, but the lost shoes and camera! They seemed to have flown in from Israel to Morocco and were waiting patiently to greet the family.
Utterly shocked, the family realized that it was the merit of Rabbi Chaim Pinto which played a vital role in finding their lost articles.
The miracle soon made waves among all who had arrived for the hilula. As the story was being related to me, a young man by the name of Michael Marciano was standing nearby. This boy had studied at Yeshivat Ponevezh in Bnei Brak and had even served, for a time, the leader of all Jewry, Harav Shach, zt”l. When Michael heard the story, he laughed it off. He skeptically asked, “How in the world could a person lose a pair of shoes and a camera in Israel, and have them suddenly turn up in Morocco?” He refused to believe it.
His friends were uncomfortable with his cynical attitude. How could it be, they wondered, that they, who had never studied in a holy yeshiva, fully believed the story, whereas he, who had been educated on Torah and faith from birth, so obstinately rebuffed it? But Michael would not be convinced of its veracity.
Observing the goings-on, I was afraid that Michael’s lack of belief would affect the others who had put such efforts into coming to pray at the grave of the tzaddik. Their main objective is to strengthen their faith in the power of the tzaddikim who served Hashem with all their hearts. As it is known, “A tzaddik decrees and Hashem fulfills.”
I turned to the young man and rebuked him for his lack of faith. He finally requested forgiveness from myself and the tzaddik.
On Shabbat morning, during the prayers, we suddenly heard loud screams from the direction of Michael Marciano. As we hurried toward him, we found him pale and shaking. After calming down somewhat, he said that Heaven proved to him that one must never scorn the merit of tzaddikim. This was his story:
“Three years ago, I lost a very precious siddur in Eretz Yisrael. I was filled with sorrow and anguish over this loss. I could not come to terms with the fact that I would never have my dear siddur again. Just now, as I completed the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, I noticed a siddur suspiciously similar to my own.
“Out of curiosity, I opened the front cover. And what did I discover? My name, written in my own handwriting, just as I had written it in my (previously) lost siddur.
“This is the very first time that I am visiting Morocco. I never participated in the tzaddik’s hilula before, and I don’t know a soul here. There is no logical way that my siddur could have gotten here from Eretz Yisrael.”
Michael lifted his siddur in the air for all to see the great hand of Divine intervention that taught him the tremendous power of the merit of tzaddikim in changing the laws of nature.
But the story does not end here. On the day of the hilula, one more (un)believable incident occurred.
Mrs. Elkayam purchased three scarves in Morocco, as well as a number of candles. She placed all of them on the tzaddik’s gravestone. Suddenly, all of these items disappeared.
This was indeed strange. No one had ever dared steal items from the tzaddik’s grave in the past. All searches of the area of the grave proved futile. Nothing was unearthed.
This woman is closely connected, through business dealings, with the king’s palace in Rabat, Morocco. Sometime after the hilula, she had occasion to be in the palace on business. She was invited into one of the rooms, a courtesy she had never before enjoyed.
As she walked in, what did she see but her scarves and candles, which had not long ago been placed upon the tzaddik’s grave in Mogador! They seemed to be waiting for her to come and claim them.
How in the world did these things end up in the king’s palace?
Heaven ordained that we should observe three distinct instances of losses which were found most miraculously, in order that we should strengthen our faith in the merit of tzaddikim, who have the power to change the laws of nature.
