# 374 (s5765-17/ 24 Tevet 5765)

Give Me the Shivers

"Nonsense!" said Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Chabd ; "It is simply malaria."


Give Me the Shivers

One of the chasidim of Rabbi Shnuer Zalman of Chabad suddenly fell ill while sailing down the Dnieper on a business trip. He decided to leave the ship at the next port, Shklov, and seek medical attention.

He went to a well-known doctor who answered him in grave tones, "I'm afraid you have contacted a rare disease for which, as of yet, no cure has been found. I suggest you return home immediately."

The chasid, however, decided to go see his rebbe before going home. "If my days are numbered, at least I will have seen the rebbe before I die," he thought, and set out for Liozna.

When he related the doctor's words to the rebbe, he was surprised to hear the rebbe's reaction, "Rubbish! You are only suffering from malaria!"

"But Rebbe," the chassid protested, "one of the symptoms of malaria is recurring shivers and chills, neither of which I have."

"Nu, so you will shiver!" the rebbe said.

No sooner had the rebbe uttered those words when the chasid began trembling, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

He was treated in Liozna and remained there until he fully recovered. Once he regained his strength, he set out back home, passing through Shklov to see the doctor whom he had previously consulted.

"How could you have frightened me so, telling me that I had some incurable disease? You see, thank G-d, all I had was a case of malaria and I am now alive and well."

"Indeed," replied the doctor, "you had malaria. However, there are two variants of this disease. One is a serious, but uncomplicated illness characterized by chills and shivers for which treatment is available. The other, more severe case is typified by a gradual loss of energy. For this, there is no cure. You most certainly had the more severe type of malaria. I am amazed at your recovery. What happened?"

The chasid told the doctor of his visit to his rebbe. "The only explanation I have," the doctor responded, "is that your Rebbe's blessing transformed the disease from one type to the other."


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[Adapted by Yrachmiel Tilles from "From My Father's Shabbos Table" (pp. 84-85), Eliyahu Touger's excellent selection and translation from the first two volumes of Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik's 4-volume series, Reshimat Devorim.]

Biographical note:
Rabbi Shneur Zalman [18 Elul 1745 - 24 Tevet 1812], one of the main disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, is the founder of the Chabad-Chassidic movement. He is the author of Shulchan Aruch HaRav and Tanya as well as many other major works in both Jewish law and the mystical teachings


 

Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit.

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