נפש כי תחטא בשגגה… (ויקרא ד:ב)

A woman once came to the holy Apta Rav zt”l and cried bitterly over a terrible calamity that occurred to her. She had taken her baby into her bed, and in the middle of her sleep, the baby fell out of her hands and tragically died רח”ל – Rachmana Litzlon – may we be spared from the high heavens of such a calamity.  She asked the Rav for an atonement for nebach causing this tragedy.

The Apta Rav responded: “If I will tell you to fast – you will become weak and you won’t be able to bring children into the world and you won’t have the strength to raise your existing children, so what good will come out of fasting?!  The correct teshuva – atonement – for you is to eat well until you feel full enough to have the strength to raise your children well and bring more healthy children into this world!”