In honor of the yahrtzeit of the Chazon Ish
As told by Rav Chaim Brim zt”l
There was a Yid, we’ll call Shimon, who was very ill, and was seen by a Professor Ashkenazi at Bellinson Hospital in Israel. Unfortunately, he was found to have a large brain tumor, and was told there was no surgery that could cure it, and there wasn’t much hope for him.
Shimon decided to go to the Chazon Ish and told him what was going on. The Chazon Ish told them to bring him the doctor’s report. They went back to the hospital, picked up the scans, and returned to the Chazon Ish. The Chazon Ish examined everything. He then pulled out a piece of paper, and drew a sketch of the brain with the tumor. He then suggested a way to do the operation, and told them to go back to the hospital and show it to the doctor.
They showed the paper to the doctor and he was speechless. He asked them who had drawn the sketch and they told him it was the Chazon Ish. The doctor asked his secretary to cancel all the rest of his appointments and ordered a taxi to take him to Bnei Brak immediately.
The doctor came into the Chazon Ish’s home and was offered a seat. The doctor said to the Chazon Ish, “The Rav’s recommendation is amazing. What university did you go to? The Chazon Ish smiled and pointed to his feet. He said, “these feet have never passed the threshold of any university door.” He then pointed to his eyes and said, “these eyes have never looked into any medical books.” “If that’s true,” said the doctor, “how did you come up with this idea!?”
The Chazon Ish calmly replied, “whatever we have to know, we know from the holy Torah!!”
Professor Asheknazi went ahead with the operation and it was a success. Shimon lived happily and healthily for many years.
Soon after, the professor spoke at a medical conference. Rather than giving a scientific speech, he told the other doctors that sometimes, patients go to discuss health issues with their rabbis. “We usually don’t approve of this,” he said. “After all, we’re the doctors, and we should know what’s best. But the truth is, it could be that a Rabbi will know the right steps to take.” He then took out the drawing of the Chazon Ish and told the story, making a great kiddush Hashem.
When the professor was much older, a younger doctor came to speak with him. He saw that on his wall, next to all his certificates and university diplomas, there was a picture of an old Jew. The younger doctor asked if that man was the professor’s grandfather, and the doctor replied that he was not. He explained that it was a picture of a great rabbi from Bnei Brak. The younger doctor asked why he had such a picture of his wall, and the professor replied, “all these certificates show how much I know. This picture reminds me that I don’t know very much at all!”
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 103.