My personal doctor, Dr. Eliyahu Bismuth, told me that he once met a fellow physician who confided in him that he had been diagnosed with an unusual and serious case of cancer. Dr. Bismuth realized that nothing short of prayer would bring this man salvation. He therefore asked him, “Do you wear tefillin each morning?”
“No.”
Dr. Bismuth told him that if he would resolve to begin now, he promised to pray for his complete recovery. The merit of Rabbi Chaim Pinto, zy”a, would stand in his defense for emerging healthy from his terrible illness. His friend accepted his advice and began laying tefillin every day.
That night, Dr. Bismuth had a dream in which Rabbi Chaim Pinto appeared and promised him that his friend would have a complete recovery. Already now, his friend was beginning to feel better, in the merit of the mitzvah of tefillin. He was instructed to approach his friend and inform him of the good news.
Dr. Bismuth woke up and hurried to do as he was bidden. After hearing the good tidings, his friend said, “Until now, I never believed in G-d or His Torah. I was light-years away from mitzvah observance. But now I feel tremendous improvement in my condition, and I understand it is in the merit of doing teshuvah. I can wholeheartedly say that I believe completely in the existence of a Creator and the power of the tzaddikim.”
The next time this man was examined by one of the top professors in the field, the results of the tests came back completely clear. His illness had gone as quickly as it had come. The professor, who did not believe there was a cure for the illness, was stunned at the miracle he witnessed. The incident was the cause of a great kiddush Hashem.
