לא יחל דברו ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה (מטות ל:ג)

He shall not desecrate his word; he shall do according to whatever comes from his mouth.

The Vilna Gaon zt’’l once experienced severe throat pain, and the doctors said that if he didn’t remove the pus surgically, he could chas v’shalom choke to death.  The Vilna Gaon, however, didn’t want to undergo surgery.

There lived a woman in Vilna who used to heal the sick by saying special ‘words.’ The Vilna Gaon agreed to call upon the woman but feared her healing was from impure resources.  The Vilna Gaon questioned her about her past and her occupation.

The woman relayed that years ago, she became a widow to a family of small children and needed parnassah to feed them.  Brokenhearted, she visited the Beis Medrash in the middle of the night, opened the Araon Kodesh, and scried her heart out to Hashem.

After crying for a while, she heard a ‘Bas Kol’ telling her:” Start healing sick people with special words, and you will earn enough money!” So she asked, “What words should I say?” She was answered that before mumbling some words, she should ask for a cup of water and say the bracha of שהכל quietly, drink up the water, and say “בורא נפשות”, and the sick will heal.

The woman said she’s been practicing this healing method for a while and earning nicely since.

When the Vilna Gaon heard her tale, he started laughing uncontrollably, and a huge clump of pus shot out of his throat, and he was healed completely.

The Vilna Gaon later explained that when the woman was crying at the open Aron Kodesh, the Gaon was sitting behind the Bimah and learning. “When the woman cried, I couldn’t continue learning, so I thought of an idea to make her happy so that she would leave the Beis Medrash. And all these years, she thought it was a ‘Bas Kol’ from heaven!” The Vilna Gaon concluded: “Though my only intentions were for her to leave the Beis Medrash, from Shamayim, my words were fulfilled, for I’m always cautious to keep my word!”

Filed under Parshas Mattos |