Torah – The Key to Life
Our yeshiva in Lyon once conducted a seudah shlishit for a large group. I found myself standing beside a Jew whom I had succeeded in bringing back in teshuvah, during a visit to a far-off French island. Out of my extreme love and concern toward this man, I turned to him and asked, “Tell me, how much time do you set aside for Torah study?”
“An hour a day,” was his response.
“Maybe you can manage to add another hour?” I suggested.
The man agreed immediately, but asked, “Why does the Rav recommend that specifically I add time to my learning schedule; the room is full of people, why does the Rav choose me?”
The truth is that I myself did not know the answer. I replied that if Heaven arranged for me to stand beside him, it was for the purpose that I strengthen precisely his Torah learning. The man heard what I said and accepted my words wholeheartedly.
- A Torah shiur in Lyon
Three days later, this man came to me, agitated and excited. He related that his house was undergoing renovations. The entire electrical system was being renewed, as well. The electrician had left some wires temporarily exposed. This man’s young son found them and touched them with a metal key. He blew a fuse and the entire house was plunged into darkness. Due to the high voltage of electricity, the key itself broke in two. It was only through a miracle that the boy was not electrocuted.
The man placed the two halves of the key in front of me. He thanked me profusely for my suggestion that he add an hour of Torah study to his daily schedule. He was certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that in the merit of his Torah study, his young son was saved. From now on, he averred, he resolved to spend half a day learning Torah.
This man grew great in Torah. Today, he is one of the heads of our institutions in Lyon.
