The Scorpion in the Pillow

Rav Dovid Chai of Nahariya related that in his younger years his father, Rav Meir, would sometimes ask him to come into his room and set up his bed or pillows. One time he did so, and as he punched the pillow into shape, his father asked him to turn it over. When Rav Dovid did so, he saw a huge scorpion, 20 to 30 centimeters long, crouched with its stinger quivering. His father did not seem scared or troubled.

"Take the pillow to your mother," he said.

"My mother," explained Rav Dovid, "was not in the least bit frightened or worried either. No one asked where the scorpion had come from or seemed in the least bit disturbed, or even wondered if there were more like it. We were used to a supernatural existence in my home," he continued, "and so she simply knocked the scorpion outside, proceeded to change the pillowcase and handed me the pillow."