Paid in Full

One of the best doctors in America, a wealthy, respected Jew who cared for his people was coming close to retirement. His friends and acquaintances arranged a magnificent, special ‘retirement party’ for him as was befitting his stature.

The important doctor – the guest of honor – was very emotional, and in his farewell speech told an amazing story that happened to him when he was made head of the department in one of the large hospitals in the United States.

* * *

‘Really’ – the doctor started his story – ‘everything began many years ago when I was a young boy. This was the start of Jewish immigration to America after the liberation of the camps. My father was not a religious man, who barely survived the terrible death camps and without the potent medications that we have today and without the doctors that we have today he died young and I was a very young boy. He left behind a widow and orphans without having anything. There were no rabbinical committees or charity funds at that time and there was also no one to worry about us or our needs and we were left simply hungry for bread.

‘One morning before I left for school, my mother had nothing to give me for breakfast, my stomach was growling from hunger and there was nothing in the house at all!

‘“Go to school now” - my mother said – “perhaps when you return I will find something.” I cried a lot because I was embarrassed to go to school without anything “and what would I do when all the children in the class would take out their treats and bread and only I would sit there with closed eyes and nothing in my hand?” I argued, and I would not go to school without anything.

‘In the end my mother found a ‘sugar packet’ hidden in one of the corners, she placed it in my hand so that I would have ‘something’ with me and not leave the house without something to eat.

‘At recess I suffered heartache seeing the children satisfy their appetites, I could not take the hunger pains any longer so I decided to go for a walk and see if I could find some food to quiet my hunger.

‘I left the class to go into the big city, a small child alone, and I started to knock on the doors of the holy Jews who are always giving. For a long time I went from door to door but to my disappointment no one opened up for me, it seemed that at that time no one was home as it was typical for Americans to be at work.

‘It happened as I was nearing a house I heard voices and noise, apparently they had not yet left the house… I hesitantly approached and lightly knocked on the door and it was opened by a young girl who asked me: “Who are you? What do you want?” I was very embarrassed but I gathered the courage and stated: “I am studying at a nearby school, I am a ten-year-old orphan and since my mother is a widow she is unable to provide for me, I come seeking a little water”…

‘”By us” – responded the girl with a wise smile – “we do not drink water in the morning!”

‘”Then what?”

‘”In our house, the beverage we drink in the morning is ‘iced coffee’! Along with some cookies!”

‘”That would be fine” – I happily responded.

‘She must have seen my condition and sensed my great hunger, and with a broad heart brought me a tasty drink and some delicious cookies which literally revived me at that time.

‘As I was drinking the coffee, she told me that usually no one is home at time of day either… and aside from the fact that she never opens the door to strangers as she was trained in her house, but today she did not feel well and she was a little late and she opened the door thinking that it was her father. “See how everything was destined for you from Heaven so that you could find something to quiet your hunger!” – the bright young girl rightly noted.

‘”What is your name?” – I asked in my embarrassment.

‘“Chana Rachel Rose” – she answered.

‘I thanked her from the bottom of my heart and I told her that she literally saved my life and I continued to thank her very much. I immediately returned to my seat in the classroom.

* * *

More than fifty years after that the story, the boy had grown up to be a specialist, head of a department in a very large hospital in the United States. From his nicely appointed office he would lead the department with a strong hand. Under him were tens of doctors and hundreds of nurses.

The protocol in that hospital was that the venerable head of the department did not go himself to the patient rooms on a daily basis. This was done by the residents and interns on daily rounds who would record in the patients’ charts their diagnoses and the various treatments prescribed for the patients’ specific needs. Afterwards the charts would go to the head of the department for review and to confirm the treatments.

One day as the specialist was reviewing the patient charts and their details he stumbled upon the name of an older woman “Chana Rachel” and next to her married name was entered her maiden name: “Rose”. The name Chana Rachel Rose” rang a bell in his head and he should have recognized it. He tried to remember where he knew the name and after some hard thinking he remembered the story that happened more than fifty years ago!

He immediately got up from his place, left his office and went to the patients ward. Everyone moved out of his out of respect for him and they wondered why the chief doctor himself was coming to the patient rooms.

The doctor went directly to the room number listed in the chart, entered the room and asked, “Who is Chana Rachel Rose?” – When she was pointed out to him he did a thorough examination and ordered the nurses to give her exceptional care and that he was overseeing her case and was in charge of her recovery.

The members of the department were all confounded, why was this woman so important and why did the head of the department take on the care of this woman?

The doctor kept his word and came every day to track her recovery and after following the special treatment and dedicated management and with great effort she began to overcome her severe illness. Her medical condition stabilized and she began to recover and get stronger until with the help of Heaven she was able to stand on her feet and she made a complete recovery from her illness.

* * *

The day came when she was to be discharged from the hospital and she approached the nurses’ station in order to receive her ‘discharge papers’ which is customary. The head nurse told her that since she received special treatment from the head of the department she would have to pay for the special treatment in addition to the cost of the expensive medication that was prescribed for her.

When she tried to clarify the exact amount owed, the nurse told her that the doctor determines the exact amount, but because of the extensive treatment it would be in the tens of thousands of dollars! Because she was treated by the head of the department himself, his services cost a large fortune!

“But I did not ask for his services at all!” – Chana Rachel exclaimed – “For some reason he decided to come to my bed and offer to treat me, of course, I am very grateful and I appreciate his kindness but I did not think that I would have to pay so much! How can you treat a patient with such expensive treatments without letting them know in advance?” – wondered the patient who did not know how she would come up with large amount of money.

“Wait here a moment” – said the nurse – “I will go to the doctor’s office and I will clarify the matter. This does sound strange, as the doctor offered his services on his own without being asked.”

After several minutes the nurse came out with the ‘statement’ issued by the doctor’s personal secretary. The total on the statement was $53,000. However, at the bottom of the statement was a handwritten note from the doctor: “Paid in full more than fifty years ago!”

Now Chana Rachel was totally confused. She did not know what was happening. “What is going on here? How did I get such a large bill? What is the meaning of “paid in full”? How was it paid? By whom?” She did not understand anything at all. She begged the nurses to see if it was possible to arrange a meeting immediately with the doctor in order to understand what is happening here.

The sympathetic nurse who was also curious to solve the mystery arranged a meeting with the head of the department in his office.

Immediately, when she entered the doctor turned to her and asked, “Are you Chana Rachel Rose?”

She wondered why the doctor called her that - now and the first time he entered her room – by her maiden name, but she thought that was the only name he remembered.

“Yes!” she answered concealing her suspicion.

 ‘Tell me, do you perhaps remember a boy of ten-years-old that came to your house and you gave him ‘iced coffee’ and cookies?’

‘No! Really, no!’ – answered Chana Rachel as her astonishment grew stronger and she did not understand anything that was happening with her today.

‘Please sit down” the doctor requested politely.

She was very nervous, but the doctor calmed her and told her that she had nothing to worry about and the bill had already been paid in full. He started to remind her of the story until she remembered the entire incident that she did indeed open the door for a boy who wanted something to drink.

“I am that orphaned little boy!” the doctor stated, “the cup of coffee and the biscuits that you gave me more than fifty years ago saved my life! They were surely payment in full for the entire bill!!!”

The elderly Chana Rachel was overcome with joy and emotions.....

* * *
The wisest of all men has already testified to us: “Send your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it.” (Koheles 11:1)

Heart Attach

Everything changed for me on December 22, 2013. 

We were in the middle of a power outage due to a severe ice storm in Toronto. I had not slept because the house was very cold. In the early morning I went out to the front door to see my husband attempting to get a layer of ice off the windshield of his car. It was strange to see him try to pull out the driveway since there was a tree atop both of our cars. 

The neighborhood looked like a beautiful but eerie place in the dark. Seeing everything covered in ice made the world look like a giant ice sculpture.

After my husband managed to leave, I realized that I would need my car
the next day to go to work. So I decided not to wait for my husband. I
found a saw and started to cut the tree into pieces. My neighbor came out with a large pair of pruning shears. So I began cutting and sawing away.

Soon after, I started feeling pressure in the center of my chest. I
tried to ignore it, thinking it was probably from the cold or
exertion. After another 30 minutes I decided to go inside and lie down

I am a registered nurse so I was looking at this from a position of a
healer, not a patient. Medics are known for their tendency to dish out
advice to others but not use it on themselves. Doctors and nurses are
notoriously "bad" patients.

After a few hours, I started feeling shortness of breath, light
headiness and tightness in both sides of my throat. My family was very
concerned. After a while, I finally relented and we called the EMT
service. As they arrived I started feeling a sharper pain on the left
side of my chest.

The first blood work in the emergency room, after being transported
via ambulance, came back normal. I felt bad that I had made a big deal
out of nothing. Yet, my second blood enzymes came back slightly
elevated small MI (myocardial infarct or heart attack.) The third
enzymes came back with a definite diagnosis of HEART ATTACK!

My head was spinning. This did not seem right, I'm not ready for
this...I'm not old enough ...this can't be.. I have things to do...
work to go to ... I do not have time to stay here!!!

Yet, hospital is exactly where I stayed for almost a week. My family
was not used to me being away from home and wanted to stay close to me
in the hospital instead of being home without me. Seeing the sad,
tired, weary, concerned look on my husband's face all week made it
clear that he was not ready for this either.

It was then that I realized that this had to be a new beginning....
not the beginning of the end...but the REAL beginning.

I decided to change the course of my thinking from a potential feeling
of depression to a new opportunity of a fresh start. Since I was not
allowed to do many of my routine activities, I had lots of time to
think and 'listen' to myself. I also had time to spend with friends
and family who came to see me. We sat down, without being rushed and
had long heart to heart conversations. Of course, my old self would
be running around doing things in the kitchen and then lament about
missing the most important conversations.

People that came to talk to me were affected as well. It made everyone
stop and think about not taking their lives for granted.

This heart attack MADE me stop, reflect and listen to my own thoughts.
I started feeling positive, thankful, philosophical and spiritual. It
was empowering to realize that we are not always in control of
situations but are only responsible for our response to them.

I decided to write some of the lessons down. I hope you will find them
useful to trigger your own thoughts about more meaningful life. Some
of the ideas are very specific to me. While I write from the
perspective of a religious Jewish woman, I think these ideas can be
applied to anyone with their own ideas of spirituality. 

The title of these ideas is "A Wake Up Call"

· I don't have to do everything.

· Its okay just being myself.

· I am valuable just as I am.

· I don't have to be perfect.

· My to do list does not define me.

· My worth is not measured by how much I accomplish in a day.

· I need to learn to understand myself in order to take care of myself.

· I must take the time to stop and listen to my own thoughts.

· I need to find joy and satisfaction in everything I do.

· I need to live in the present not ruminate about the past and not worry about the future.

· I need to know that GOD has my back and if I stop fighting HIS guidance I will find the right solution.

· Sabbath is for reminder that BEING is just as good or better than DOING.

· I need to slow down, stop and listen to what people around me have to say.

· I need to hear what people around me truly want and not assume that I know what's best.

· I can open doors but can't force anyone to enter.

· I can sometimes help others more by just letting them figure it out themselves.

· If I help others too much I will render them helpless since doing less for them sometimes helps them more.

· Remember the story of the butterfly, if you help it break out of its cocoon, its wings will not get strong from the struggle and it will not be able to fly.

· I need to make choices based on more accurate information, by learning more about myself - not by being guided by guilt or unrealistic expectations that I have of myself or perceive others have about me.

· I need to take care of my health, exercise on a regular basis; 3 times per week for 30 minutes consistently.

· I need to monitor my stress levels and realize that being stressed will not change anything except increase anxieties and blood pressure.

· Learn to recognize what I can and cannot control.

· I need to forgive myself and let it go of pain.

· Live in the moment without regretting the past or thinking about what has not happened yet.

· The past, present and future are a progression of life. We can only stand on the stepping stone of the present.

At my next appointment my doctor noticed that I was having an unusual reaction to having a heart attack. He was surprised that unlike most people who feel depressed after such a health failure, I was experiencing very positive emotions.

Of course, to keep the positive changes in our lives is a constant
life-long project but NOW is the time to start.

 

 

 

Full story coming soon on hearttoheartwithsharon.com blog For comments email sharon@hearttoheartwithsharon.com

 

 

 

 

A Chilling And Awe-Inspiring Malaysia Air Flight 370 Story

The whole world’s eyes are on the far east, wondering how a Boeing 777 can just disappear without a trace.  Malaysia Air Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:43am this past Saturday morning and has yet to be located.  Flying is the safest mode of transportation that exists today, so the disappearance of an airplane like this is really sobering.

 

I heard the following story firsthand from the travel agent involved.  He is an avid DansDeals follower that I’m friends with.  He sent me the unedited exchange that follows and I made the necessary edits to protect the privacy of the parties involved.

The saying goes, “More than the Jews have kept the Shabbos (Sabbath), the Shabbos has kept the Jews.”  When I think of that saying, I picture my life if I were constantly wired 7 days a week.  As it is, I feel like a slave to my digital devices, but the knowledge that Shabbos is right around the corner keeps me going. From sundown Friday evening until when the stars come out on Saturday night it’s 25 hours spent completely offline and it’s blissful.  It’s 25 hours spent praying to G-d and consuming obscene amounts of calories eating scrumptious meals with family and friends.  It’s perfect.  Sure anyone can always disconnect, but there’s something awesome about the forced routine that can’t be properly explained to one who hasn’t experienced it.

But the saying goes much deeper than that in this story.

 

Click on any of the emails to enlarge them.

On 01/13/14 Andy emailed his travel agent his desired itinerary:

 

 

The travel agent, an Orthodox Jew, proposed the following business class itinerary, slightly altering the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight from Saturday to Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andy loved the price, but again requested the Saturday morning flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing:

 

 

The travel agent responded that he would not be able to book travel for him over the Sabbath, but that he was free to book that flight by himself:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andy agreed with that and planned to book the flight by himself:

 

And the travel agent noted that if he changed his mind to just let him know:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shortly afterward Andy did just that:

 

And the travel agent recommended a place to get a nice kosher meal and booked him the originally proposed itinerary, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Friday early morning instead of Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward to 2 days ago.  The travel agent is in Israel and reads this email once Shabbos is over.  The email was sent after shabbos, at 7:15pm Beijing time/1:15pm Israel time:

 

 

And the travel agent wrote back, equally in shock at the realization of Shabbos saving his client’s life:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

—————————————————————————

Indeed, due to the travel agent worrying about the religious observance of a fellow Jew, Andy was persuaded into flying on Malaysia Air 370 exactly one day prior to the ill-fated flight he wanted to take.

It’s not often we hear a story like this.  It’s been 103 years since Rose was saved from the devastation of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire thanks to observing Shabbos.  And now it was Andy’s turn.

Prayers go out to the families of those still missing.

Lost Wallet

Consecutive weeks of traveling to meetings along freeways across the United States were coming to an end. I returned the rental car to the agency at Kennedy Airport. As part of the service of the rental agency they provided a shuttle to transport the travelers to their designated terminals. Happy and satisfied I stood at the shuttle stop longing for my family in Israel when suddenly a men dressed in Muslim outfit turned to me and said that he was short a few dollars to fill the gas tank of the rental car.

As a general rule: The renter receives a car with a full tank of gas and he must return it to the agency the same way he received it. If not – the rental agency collects an excessive amount from the renter.

I hesitated for a few seconds, but then decided that this was an opportunity to perform a good dead . I reached for my wallet, but for some reason it was not in that pocket. I continued to search my other pockets in order to find the wallet and give the men what he requested – but the wallet was missing!! Perhaps check the suit? In the suitcase? Again I checked the shirt pocket… but the wallet was missing.

I searched in all my bags under terrible pressure because there was a lot of money in the wallet, the passport, international credit cards and many other important and valuable items. Since I could not find it in my bags, I hurried back to the rental car, perhaps I would find my lost wallet. When I reached the counter it turned out that the keys had already been given to the maintenance crew for cleaning and washing prior rental to the next customer.

Frantically, I ran to the parking lot and when I reached it I noticed that all the car doors were open to facilitate cleaning. I called out to the worker and asked him to wait a little and I began searching the car. After a few tense moments, I found what I was looking for under the car seat wrapped in black plastic – exactly in the condition I had left it with nothing missing. Had it been a few minutes later, the story would have had a different ending. Had I refused the man, I would not have been able to board the plane since the passport was in the wallet.

This is just another lesson for me, another message to teach all of us to bring Kindness and G-d's light into our lives.

Shmuel Winzelberg

י.ו.

Lives Saved by a Screaming Woman

Rabbi Henry & Rebbetzin Esther Soille were in their apartment in Paris when they heard a scream. They recognized it as neighbor of theirs - a non-Jewish woman. Feeling the terror in the woman's voice, Mrs. Soille said,”Lets get dressed and go help her." Rabbi Soille agreed and added, "If we wait that long she may be dead by then." So, they immediately ran outside, dressed only in their pajamas to help.       
 
When they got outside they saw a Nazi car coming toward their building so they dashed out of sight. From their hiding place they could see that the Gestapos were going to none other than their own apartment. Had they not responded with sensitivity and courage to the anguished cries of their neighbor, they would have still been in their apartment for the Nazis to find them and drag them off. Because they engaged in a chesed (act of kindness), their own lives had now been spared.
 
Why was the woman screaming? They later learned that the woman neighbor was screaming because the Nazis had come to seize her husband for smuggling. She told them to spare her husband and take the Rabbi next door instead.
 
Her intention was to trade the Rabbi's life for her husband's life. It didn't even help her because they still took her husband. In attempting to betray the Rabbi, she actually saved him...  (©2014. Printed with permission from Rabbi Baruch Lederman, author of Shulweek www.kehillastorah.org.) 

A Baby’s Carriage

A few years ago my friend and her husband were dealing with financial crises. They lost their business during Hurricane Sandy.  After 6 months of unpaid bills, they were forced to leave the apartment and move to their parents’ house. This is when my friend found out that she was pregnant. The day came and they welcomed a healthy baby boy. My husband was honored to perform the circumcision for their son.

A few days after, my husband went to their house to change the bandages for the baby. While my husband was at the house, the father was pumping the tires of the baby’s stroller. Unfortunately, he put too much air and both tires blew up. The wife was very upset because they did not have money to buy a new 'Bugaboo" stroller. My husband ended up being in the middle of the argument between two of them. He felt very uncomfortable and tried to appease both sides. He offered to help to try to find a similar carriage on sale or perhaps call the company to see if they would exchange the frame of the stroller. Both men tried to calm my friend down but she was inconsolable.

The next morning, my husband was on his way to synagogue when he spotted a stroller right outside our apartment building. It was the exact brand “Bugaboo” stroller in absolutely perfect condition.  He couldn't believe his eyes. My husband brought it home and later that night took it to our friends’ house.  

Imagine how shocked our friends were when my husband walked in with the exact same stroller that was destroyed the day before. All three of them were overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. Certainly, never before or after did my husband find a “Bugaboo” stroller next to our apartment building.

Small miracles happen every day. All we need to do is recognize these ‘messages’ and realize that there are no coincidences in our lives.   
By Leah Levy

Saving Life

Yoav, a young  IDF (Israeli Defense Force) soldier was stationed in the city of Chevron. Suddenly, he was shot by an Arab sniper and left for dead. As it was four o'clock in the morning, and no imminent attack was expected; no one was awake to hear the shot and rush to his aid. It appeared as though Yoav was doomed to bleed to death before anybody would ever find him. His short life would come to a tragic silent end.
 
One other soldier however, did happen to hear something. Though not totally sure, he suspected it might be a rifle shot so he went to investigate. He spotted Yoav, who was lying on the ground, bleeding to death. He immediately began to stabilize Yoav's wound and arrange for emergency transport to a medical facility. It took time for help to get to the scene, so he needed to apply manual pressure and any other trick he could think of to keep Yoav alive in the interim - he was literally holding Yoav's life in his hands.
 
Eventually, Yoav arrived at a proper medical facility where he was treated by surgeons. Yoav's parents were notified and rushed to the hospital. The doctors told them that had it not been for the immediate and appropriate actions of the other soldier, their son Yoav would definitely not have survived. It was indeed a miracle that the other soldier heard what no one else heard, and managed to locate Yoav as quickly as he did. They went to thank him, but he had already left the hospital.
 
After Yoav was home recuperating, and everyone was settled, they called the army to find out the name of the other soldier so they could thank him personally. Unfortunately, the other soldier's name had not been recorded in the incident report, so they now had no way of ever contacting him.
 
Yoav's parents owned a makolet (grocery store) in Kiryat Malachi, so they put up a poster in their store, describing the miracle that occurred and asking if anyone knew the identity of Yoav's savior. They figured that Israel is a small country and someone might know someone who knows something.
 
Months passed with no response. Finally after a year, a woman entered the store and saw the sign. She was positive that her son Doron had mentioned such an account. She took out her cellphone and called Doron on the spot. Sure enough, he remembered the incident quite well - it was he who had saved Yoav's life.
 
Soon, all the families gathered together for a joyful tearful 'reunion.'  Doron's mother pulled Yoav's mother aside and told her, "There is a specific reason I came to your store today. You don't remember me, but twenty years ago, I was standing in your makolet feeling lost and forlorn. You and your wonderful husband noticed how sad I looked and asked me what was the matter. I explained that I was pregnant and was overwhelmed. There were so many unbearable difficulties; financially, socially and emotionally. I decided that the only way out was to have an abortion."
 
"You both stopped everything, and calmly and lovingly sat with me. You listened to me. Then you offered so much encouragement and support. Because of you, everything began to look different and I chose to keep my baby. I no longer live around here, but I happened to be passing through and I figured it would be nice to visit your store again to thank you once again for all that you did. The name of that precious baby was Doron."
 

"My beloved Doron, who would not have been born were it not for you, grew up to save your son Yoav's life." (©2014. Printed with permission from Rabbi Baruch Lederman, author of Shulweek www.kehillastorah.org.)