Alone in the Forest
When his father fell critically ill far from any doctor, the young Yismach Yisroel went into the forest and prayed with a certainty that astonished his father.
A story ofRav Yerachmiel Yisroel Yitzchok Danziger of Alexanderרבי ירחמיאל ישראל יצחק דנציגר מאלכסנדרProfile ›
It is told that Rav Yechiel of Alexander and his son Yisroel Yitzchok once went to a quiet, isolated village to rest and regain their health. In the middle of the night the father became critically ill, and there was no doctor for many miles. Rav Yechiel was sure that his end had come.
His son promised him that no harm would come to him. Then he left the house and walked into the forest alone. There, among the dark trees, he cried out to Hashem. Was this how the Rebbe of Alexander was to be treated, lying helpless far from any help? Soon afterward he returned and found his father already feeling better.
When Rav Yechiel recovered his strength, he asked how his son could have promised so boldly. The son answered with a teaching of the Ruzhiner Rebbe on the verse in Tehillim, "How long, Hashem, will You hide Your face from me?" Hashem can hide His face only while a person still has some other resource to lean on. When a man can do nothing to help himself and only Hashem can help, Hashem cannot hide.
In that lonely forest, the son said, nothing remained but prayer, and so he knew his father would be saved.
Source: Sipurei Chasidim (Rav S. Y. Zevin); in English in A Treasury of Chassidic Tales (ArtScroll/Mesorah, tr. Uri Kaploun).
Most of us try everything first and pray last. This week, when a problem leaves you with no good moves, stop and say plainly to Hashem what you cannot fix, in your own words and without polishing them. You can do it in the car, in the kitchen or on a walk. Notice the difference between asking while you are still scheming and asking when you have truly put the matter in His hands. Then do the next sensible step, calmer than before. The Yismach Yisroel's confidence did not come from knowing the answer. It came from knowing whom to ask.