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Weekly Chasidic Story #636 (s5770-20 / 18 Shevat 5770) We Don't Ask Twice Whenever they had a question, they would ask Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, wife of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Connection: 22nd Yahrzeit
We Don't Ask Twice
One day, she received a phone call that the mother was very sick and after
many tests in the hospital, the doctors concluded that she needed an operation.
They were calling to ask for the Rebbe's consent and blessing for the operation. The Rebbetzin said that in Lubavitch you don't ask twice. "I consider myself a chasid of the Rebbe and I do as the chasidim do, and so I cannot ask again," she said. The family was distraught, so the Rebbetzin said that although she would not ask again, if the Rebbe came home and asked whether she had heard anything from the family, she would repeat what they had told her. When the Rebbe came home for supper, he asked the Rebbetzin whether she had heard from the family. She told the Rebbe what they had said and then added, "I'm not asking, I'm just telling you." The Rebbe looked serious and after a pause he said, "I repeat, they should not operate!" The Rebbetzin conveyed this clear answer to the family and a few days later they called again. They said that the doctors said her condition had deteriorated further and her life was in immediate danger. They were asked to sign that they took full responsibility for the woman and absolved the doctors and the hospital of any responsibility. The Rebbetzin said, "The Rebbe said two times already not to operate." When the Rebbe came home, the Rebbetzin told him the latest events and the Rebbe said, "Why don't they try medication?" The Rebbetzin immediately called the family to tell them. They in turn mentioned it to the doctors, who laughed at them in response. "A rabbi knows better than we do about medicine? We say that only an operation can save her and it's not a matter of medication." The family believed the Rebbe and went from department to department, looking for a doctor who would understand them. Finally, they found a doctor who thought for a moment and then said, "I think I know which medication the Rebbe has in mind, and since I wear a white jacket and can go wherever I want, I will visit your mother and give her an injection and let's see what happens." A few days later, the doctors said her condition had suddenly stabilized. They did not know what had happened, but she was no longer deteriorating. The doctor was optimistic and told the family that apparently he had indeed used the medicine the Rebbe was thinking of. He gave the woman another injection and two days later the doctors who had been treating her admitted she had improved somewhat. Every so often, the doctor would come by and give her medication until she was out of danger and was released from the hospital. The family kept in constant touch with the Rebbetzin. When the Rebbetzin told the Rebbe that the woman had returned home, the Rebbe said, "When they asked me about an operation, I saw that if they did it, she wouldn't make it off the operating table, which is why I adamantly opposed an operation. When they asked again, I thought the doctors would see that the family was adamantly opposed to an operation and would try medication. When I saw that they weren't thinking along those lines at all, I explicitly suggested medication." The Rebbetzin related this and said that the Rebbe had added, "Now you see how important it is to listen to whatever we say, even when the experts say the opposite." ~~~~~~~~~~ Biographic Note:
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Yerachmiel
Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor
of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories
to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells
them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.