The Sign
When we celebrated the chanukat habayit of the Beit Hamidrash in Paris, I sat among the audience, asking Hashem for a signal that this place should indeed be sanctified for His Name, and the sound of Torah should never cease to be heard here. Suddenly, a couple walked in with their son. They came directly to me and the woman said, “Honored Rav, I have brought my dear son to you.”
For a few minutes, I was in a state of confusion. I had no recollection of these people, and I did not know what the woman wanted from me. She finally reminded me of their story. This boy had fallen from the third floor. He had been in critical condition, and his doctors had not given him long to live. In their anguish, the couple had come to me for a blessing for a refuah sheleimah in the merit of my fathers, zy”a, which I gave.
“Certainly the Rav remembers,” the woman added, “how he promised us that the merit of his ancestors would bring the boy a complete recovery and he would attend the chanukat habayit on two healthy feet.
“Until a few days ago, our son was still in a deep coma. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and regained consciousness! Then he began speaking and communicating with us. Finally, he stood up, to the astonishment of all the doctors.
“Now we have come to fulfill the second half of the Rav’s prophecy. Our healthy son has come to participate in the chanukat habayit of this hallowed sanctuary.”
Upon hearing this woman’s words, I thanked Hashem for His wonderful kindnesses with His creatures and for bringing this boy back to himself.
Then I turned to Rav Solomon, shlita, who sat near me and had heard the entire exchange. I told him, “Before these people walked in, I asked Hashem for a sign that this place would be a haven for Torah and kedushah. This family’s message of their miracle clearly indicates that this edifice will be a fount of Torah, drawing countless members of our nation to drink from its spiritual waters.”
- With the Gaon, Rabbi Meir Entebbe, zt”l, Rabbi of Mexico
