‘Rebbe, Why Did Hashem Make Me Ill?’

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America, through the Mindel archives.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that for the next few programs we will do the Rebbe's letters, so we can see the clarity — the English letters — how clear the Rebbe's principles are. So today I want to share with you a letter that a woman wrote to the Rebbe. She writes: God is the Creator of the world, and God guides everything and everyone — why do I deserve [this]? The doctor had told her about her prognosis, something which she didn't like, so she asks, why did God do this? Many people ask this question.

So the Rebbe answered. Number one, very practical — the Rebbe writes to her: even from the realistic point of view, we must recognize the fact that many times the greatest doctors, the greatest physicians, have made mistakes in diagnosis. So when the Rebbe wrote this to her, she felt automatically better — because if the Rebbe said it, probably the Rebbe is taking care of it. But the fact is that doctors make mistakes — that's number one.

Number two: in recent times, new discoveries are made daily in the medical field — new wonders, new drugs, new medical treatments. So in other words, maybe this diagnosis — maybe tomorrow they'll come up with a medicine that you'll be able to use. So what do you have to worry about? This is practical.

The third thing is the most important: to be truly realistic, one cannot consider anything impossible in a condition which is, to a large extent, bound up with the nervous system and the resistance of the organism. Even medical opinion agrees that the stronger the patient's faith in the cure, the stronger his will to get better, the stronger becomes his ability to recover. The biggest cure is to think positive — the Rebbe always says this, and people think it's just a saying, but it's true: when you think good, it will be good. This is how the Rebbe answered many, many people. People shouldn't think that this is just a saying — that thinking good actually does good. This is how a person should think. So this is a lesson that we should always keep — think positive.

Now let me speak about something else. Since we are now before Yud Shevat, [we should remember the lessons of the Frierdiker Rebbe]. I would suggest reading the letters — people should read the letters, they'll find answers. Just read the letters, and you'll know what to do in certain situations, and follow [the guidance]. This is something one should take upon oneself.

Now I also want to say this — this is personal. My birthday is Yud Shevat, and my mother's birthday is also Yud Shevat. So I want to give a brocha to all the listeners — quite a few years now that people have been listening to this program.

The Rebbe writes in a letter — I don't know if I've given out this letter before — somebody asked, why do you make such a fuss over a birthday? We know that even years ago they never made a fuss over a birthday. Some people don't even know their own birth date — they say it wasn't important, a birthday. So why did the Rebbe make an issue of it?

So the Rebbe answered like this: every person in the world has a birthday. There is no person who does not have one. In this world we need blessings, so [a birthday] gives an opportunity for every person to give a brocha at least once a year. So we should make a point — every birthday is a time that we can give brochas.

So I want to give a brocha — and to everybody, a big brocha. I'll mention — once somebody came to the Rebbe and said, "Rebbe, I need a blessing, but I only want a 'stickel' [a little bit of a] blessing" — he used the word stickel — "because I know you're a busy man, and I don't want to keep you busy, so just give me a stickel, just a little bit." So the Rebbe said, "When I give a brocha, I don't give a stickel — you get a full brocha." So I want to give the same — I give you a full brocha.

[The Rebbe] also mentioned — why do we say [the order the way we do]? It should be the opposite — first should come Banim [children], and then Chayim [life], and then [Mezonos, sustenance] — so why do we put children first? The Rebbe answers in another letter: if a person has good children and they follow [the proper path], then the father has true wealth. And this doesn't mean money — many people are rich and have problems with their children — so all the riches mean nothing. First there has to be Banim — a person raises good children — then his life is a good life, and then [the rest follows].

So I want to give a blessing that there should be shalom in the world, and especially among us — among Yidden. It's said: if you want to see whether a fish is fresh, you smell the head — if the head is fresh, then the whole fish is fresh. The same thing applies here: if there is shalom among [the leaders/the Jewish people], there will be shalom in the whole world.

And we should all have [everything good], and we should be [blessed]. Now, thank you.