The Plague in Lod
Arriving in a town struck by plague, Rashbi declared that the decree could not stand in his presence, and it ended.
A story ofRebbi Shimon bar Yochaiרבי שמעון בר יוחאיProfile ›
The Zohar relates that Rebbi Shimon once came to the city of Lod and found it gripped by a plague. People were falling ill and dying around him. He looked at the suffering and said, in astonishment, that this should be happening while he stood in the town. Then he commanded that the decree be nullified.
A heavenly voice at once sounded over the city. The destructive forces were told to leave immediately, because Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai was present: even though Hashem had decreed it, Rashbi had abolished it. The plague stopped.
Rebbi Chanina was awed by what he had seen and described it to Rebbi Meir. Rebbi Meir answered that no one could properly measure Rashbi's greatness. Even Moshe Rabbeinu, when the plague struck after Korach's rebellion, had to send Aharon running with the incense to stop it. Rashbi ended a plague with his word alone.
Chassidim retell this as a lesson in how close a tzaddik stands to the people around him. He did not see affliction as someone else's problem. It was happening in his presence, and so it was his.
Source: Zohar Chadash, Midrash Rus (Midrash HaNe'elam)
Think of one person near you who is going through something hard, whether illness, loneliness or money worries. Do not just wish them well. Do one thing this week: bring a meal, make a call, sit with them for twenty minutes, or give tzedakah in their merit. Rashbi's reaction to the plague was that it should not be happening where he stood. You may not be able to end anyone's trouble, but you can decide that it will not happen unnoticed in your presence.