וימל אברהם את יצחק בנו בן שמונת ימים כאשר צוה אותו אלקים (וירא כא:ד)

The mitzvah of Bris Milah possesses hidden spiritual powers to bring yeshuos — salvations — and to protect from hardships, calamities, and illnesses, as seen in the following remarkable story:

Harav Reb Duvid’l of Dinov zt”l, the son of the holy Bnei Yissoscher zt”l, would each morning eat breakfast in shul together with a group of chassidim after davening.

Once, a terrible epidemic spread through the city of Dinov. The townspeople, aware of the holiness of the tzaddik who lived among them, came to him seeking salvation — that he intercede in Heaven to annul the dreadful decree.

During breakfast, people kept arriving with names of the sick, asking for a refuah shleimah. Suddenly, Reb Duvid’l stood up and began recounting a story that had occurred during the reign of Kaiser Joseph II.

It was known that Kaiser Joseph sought to introduce reforms among the Jewish communities, encouraging them to study secular subjects and integrate into broader society. To gain a firsthand understanding of Jewish life and customs, the Kaiser disguised himself as a commoner and traveled incognito from town to town across Galicia, where many Jewish communities were located.

At one point, the Kaiser happened to attend a Bris Milah. Curious to witness this unusual ceremony, he watched intently. But when the mohel approached the infant with a knife in hand, the Kaiser grew alarmed. He wished to stop him — yet he dared not, for fear of revealing his true identity.

When the mohel proceeded to perform priah (the uncovering of the area), the Kaiser’s compassion was stirred again — not only to cut, but to tear as well! Still, he restrained himself.

Finally, when he saw the mohel preparing to perform metzitzah with his mouth, the Kaiser, misunderstanding the act, assumed the mohel intended to bite the child. Unable to contain himself any longer, he cried out: “I am Kaiser Joseph and I command you to stop immediately!  Cutting, tearing, biting…this is too much!”

With that, Reb Duvid’l ended the story. He sat down calmly, a special radiance shining from his face. No one disturbed him any further. Miraculously, all the ill were healed.  The tzaddik’s holy words had aroused mercy in Heaven, and the plague ceased.

From this, we learn of the tremendous power of the mitzvah of Bris Milah. Simply by invoking its merit, an entire city was saved, and every patient recovered.