The Blessing of Avrohom and Sora
On his wedding day the Kotzker prayed that a frail body would bear a great mind, and later blessed him with long life.
A story ofRav Avrohom Borensteinהרב אברהם בן זאב נחום בורנשטייןProfile ›
It is told that the Divrei Chaim of Sanz once tested the young Avrohom Borenstein as a possible chosson for his own daughter. Afterward he said that the young man learned like the Noda BiYehuda, but that he was too sharp to be his son-in-law. Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, the Seraf of Kotzk, took him instead.
Standing under the chuppah, the Kotzker prayed quietly that Hashem grant this weak and sickly body the strength to carry so great a mind. The prayer was needed, for it was true that the young man's health had always been fragile.
Not long after the wedding, his daughter Sora ran to her father's house in tears. Her young husband had come down with pneumonia and was coughing blood. The Kotzker calmed her. There was nothing to fear, he said, for her husband would live a long life. He was named Avrohom and she was Sora, and the verse says of the first Avrohom and Sora that they were old, coming along in days.
The Rebbe's blessing held. The frail young man lived to the age of seventy-one, long enough to build a yeshivah, lead a chassidic court and leave his responsa to the world.
Source: Al HaTzaddikim ve'al HaChassidim (B'darchei Polin HaAveilos), pp. 186–191.
Think of someone you know who is struggling with health, confidence or a new role. Today, tell them one specific, hopeful thing you see in them, and tell it with warmth. The Kotzker did not deny his son-in-law's weakness. He prayed over it and then spoke a blessing about the future. You can do the same, with a short call, a note or a few words at the table. Hearing that someone believes in them can strengthen a person far more than advice.