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There was a baal teshuvah who, at the age of 30, walked into Kolel Hazon Ish in Bnei Brak. He approached the rabbis and said:
“Rabbatei, for 30 years I wasn’t religious. But my time has come. I want to become dati. I want to be religious. Can you bring me a rabbi to learn with me? Can you give me havrutot to learn with on a daily basis? I am ready.”
The rabbis embraced him with open arms. They arranged a rabbi to learn with him and provided him with havrutot. Slowly but surely, he began learning.
Although he knew Hebrew, he needed guidance to understand the psukim correctly. With the help of his rabbi, he began learning Mishnayot. A few months later, he progressed to Gemara.
It is incredible: someone who had been out of the system for 30 years could, in a matter of months, make up what he missed. This is Hashem’s mercy. This is Atahunen la-adam dati u-lamad la-anashim: Hashem gives wisdom, guidance, and support to those who seek it.
After six months, he was learning Gemara; after eight months, he was progressing steadily. He studied day and night, like one of the lifelong scholars of the kollel. Within a year, he had become a central presence in the beit midrash, living, breathing, and loving Torah.
But one morning, about a year into his journey, he woke up with a terrible headache. That afternoon, he was taken to the hospital. That evening, he passed away.
The kollel members were stunned. “This doesn’t make sense,” they said. “He was learning day and night. He came back to Hashem, and now he’s gone?”
They arranged a tremendous funeral. News of this baal teshuvah spread, and older rabbanim came to pay respects. But no one had an answer for what had happened.
The two head rabbis of the kollel decided to go to Bat Yam, to visit the parents during shivah, to console them. They knew these parents were not religious. They expected the parents to bombard them with questions, challenges, and anger.
“How could this happen?” the parents would ask. “Our son was fine before he became religious. Now he dies after coming to Bnei Brak?”
The rabbis had no idea what to say. So they went to their own rabbi for guidance.
They consulted Rabbi Chaim Kaniyewski, and asked:
“Rabbi, what do we tell the parents? They are not religious and will demand answers.”
Rabbi Chaim did not hesitate. He said:
“Tell the parents this: their son was supposed to die a year earlier. By deciding, of his own free will, to become religious, Hashem extended his life. He gave him an extra year to live.”
The two rabbis were surprised. “Try telling that to non-religious parents,” they said. “They won’t understand. They’ll reject it.”
That night, they prepared a careful, eloquent speech emphasizing his growth, his dedication, and his return to Torah. They planned to avoid any difficult theological questions. They thought they knew better than Rabbi Chaim.
The next day, they walked into the parents’ home. The parents were sitting shivah on the floor. As soon as they saw the rabbis, they jumped up, screaming:
“You murdered our son! Our son was fine before he became religious! He was fine before Bnei Brak! And now he’s dead because of you!”
The rabbis were shaken. They forgot every prepared line, every carefully planned speech. They had nothing left to say.
Finally, after a moment, they said:
“Relax for a minute. Sit down. The questions you have are the same questions we have. We are as puzzled as you are. We do not know what happened. But we have a rabbi, Rabbi Chaim Kaniyewski, to guide us when we do not have answers. Here is what he told us to say…”
And they told the parents exactly what Rabbi Chaim said:
“Your son was supposed to die a year earlier. He decided to become religious. Hashem, in His mercy, gave him an extra year to live.”
The parents listened. Then, unexpectedly, they began to cry. They nodded to each other, silently acknowledging the truth.
Finally, the father spoke:
“Rabbi Chaim is right. Exactly one year ago, on Shabbat afternoon, our son was at home. His friends came in a car, honking and calling him to join them for a soccer game. That Shabbat, he was beginning to think about keeping Shabbat and becoming religious. He turned to his friends and said: ‘Go without me. I want to keep Shabbat.’”
The father continued:
“His friends mocked him, degraded him, and left. Minutes later, the car of friends ran into a bus. Everyone in the car died instantly. Our son was supposed to be in that car — but he wasn’t. Because he chose Shabbat and chose to become religious, Hashem gave him an extra year to live. And that year led him to Bnei Brak, to Torah, and to holiness.”
The rabbis were stunned. They had expected anger. Instead, the parents understood the divine wisdom behind the tragedy.
This story teaches us the power of Torah, the guidance of the gedolim, and the mercy of Hashem. Even when events seem impossible or illogical, Hashem’s plan is perfect. As the rabbis of old teach, we must follow the words of Torah and the guidance of the sages, even when we cannot fully comprehend the outcome.
We are a na’aseh v’nishma people — doing and believing, trusting Hashem and His plan.