Two Legs In, Two Legs Out

Rav Moshe Aharon suffered from gangrene, and the doctors at Hadassah Hospital in Yerushalayim wanted to amputate both his legs. He always refused, saying that no descendant of Rav Yoshiyahu Pinto had ever suffered mutilation. "I came into this world with two legs," he would remind the doctors, "and with two legs I will leave this world." As he spoke he would raise his hands to the sky and call on his great-grandfather, Rav Chaim Pinto HaGadol.

On the day he was finally to be operated on, the doctor told the whole family that he would try one last treatment. If it failed, he would have to amputate, or Rav Moshe Aharon's life would be in danger. That same day his blood circulation improved markedly, and the operation was no longer needed.

Once he was free of the gangrene, Rav Moshe Aharon said, "It is now that my sufferings will begin."