Community Magazine August 2016

44 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE struggled to get the words out, the Rabbi feared he was fatally sick. But no, the problem was the stock market crash of 2008. This once-wealthy man had lost all of his money in an instant and was brought down to his lowest point because of it. “He was completely lost and confused,” Rabbi Abisror says of the supplicant. “It’s easy to talk to someone who has emuna and is religious. But someone’s who’s not connected to Gd – what do you say?” Rabbi Abisror, knowing he had some time to spare, simply made him comfortable, consoling him with the occasional reference to Gd. “We sat in the same chairs from 10AM until minha time,” the Rabbi remembers. “When we got up, he turned to me and said ‘you know what? I’m not contemplating suicide anymore.’” Up until this point, the Rabbi had no idea he’d even been considering it! He thought the man was desperate, certainly, but not suicidal. Looking back on the experience, the Rabbi marvels at the way the situation turned. The man left his side with his life intact, ready and willing to accept the more humble lifestyle he’d have to live from now on. “Sometimes people just need a kind word,” the Rabbi declares. “A person can never say that he has nothing to offer. Sometimes a kind word means a lot more than anything else. You can be the poorest human being – but if you say the right words, you can keep a person alive.” And as the mishna tells us, saving one Jewish life is akin to saving the whole world. Recently, Rabbi Abisror was given the Ahavat Torah Award from the Hafetz Hayim Heritage Foundation and the Keter Torah Award from Yeshivat Doresh, a school for children with learning disabilities. When asked about his connection to these organizations, the Rabbi says: “I feel a special connection to both of these organizations. I admire The Hafetz Hayim Heritage Foundation for its unwavering devotion to spreading shalom and ahava throughout the world. I’m also very friendly with the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivat Doresh, Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Salfer, Ph.D. I’m fond of all the wonderful work he does in the education world.” Sometimes the Rabbi himself is in need of hizuk – and for that, he looks to Gd. He recalls a time, after he lost his business about 12 years ago, that he unquestionably saw the hand of Hashem in his life. He shares the following story of hashgacha peratit (Divine Providence) al Kiddush Hashem – to inspire others: The Rabbi, who was in tough financial straits, was driving back from New York to Florida with his wife and younger children just before Pesach. “I was really in No Man’s Land,” he admits. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life.” The Rabbi had his talet and tefilin on and mizmorim in his mouth when, at around 8AM, he crossed into the Carolinas and got to this telltale sentence in Baruch She’amar: Baruch Gozer U’Mekayem. ” It’s the only sentence in the mizmor , the Rabbi says, that doesn’t seem to be in praise of Hashem – but only if we take it to mean, “Hashem decrees and fulfills his decree.” If, however, we internalize the pasuk this way - “Hashem decrees and then gives us strength to continue living,” - we can face any hardship with renewed strength. At the very moment that the Rabbi uttered these words - Baruch gozer u’mekayem,” – he heard a loud BANG. Pulling over, he discovered that his back tire was completely flat. The rabbi bent over to take the donut out of the trunk and began looking “Rabbi, this baby is here because of you,” the man said to him when he got there. “Me? What do you mean?” the Rabbi said puzzled. “After your class on shalom bayit, ” the man answered, “I went home and made peace with my wife.”