It was an emotional visit for 10-year-old Eliyahu, who is stricken with a life-threatening illness R”L. He was brought to the home of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky Shlita accompanied by his father and Reb Aharon Aberman, the latter being the founder of Lev Malka.
Aberman spoke with the gadol hador, explaining the child’s condition. He told him they came to receive a bracha for Eliyahu’s recovery. R’ Chaim responded “רפואה שלימה בקרוב”. To the astonishment of many members of the medical team the young man’s condition improved significantly, permitting Eliyahu to return to his former life and his friends. Now however the illness has returned and Eliyahu is compelled to undergo difficult painful treatments in the hospital.
Realizing the child’s ability to continue is fading, the decision was made to make another visit to Rav Chaim.
The rav listened attentively to the adults as they explained the situation. Rav Chaim lifted his hand and gently moved the child’s peyos from behind his ears to over his ears. “Place your peyos atop of your ears and in this zechus you will get healthy” the gadol stated.
Of late the rav has instructed others to follow this same practice, to move their peyos to above their ears and not behind.
R’ Aberman reports the child’s family and others present was moved by R’ Chaim’s words and his bracha, which stated that by complying with the instructions regarding his peyos, he would merit “seeing yeshuos and returning to health”. Family members were uplifted with the realization צדיק גוזר והקב”ה מקיים, continuing to daven for Eliyahu’s total recovery.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
16 Responses
sounds like a chasiidishe maaysa…guess the yeshivish/litvish are running short on mesora…nebach
Tears have rolled down my cheek when reading this story. I, too, have now committed to keeping my peyos in front of my ear. I just moved them from behind my ear (where it has been since I’m 7 years old) to in front of my ear, and IY”H I plan to keep it like this indefinitely.
Litvish mesorah is to NOT have long peyos and to keep peyos behind the ears.
Is this for all jews or sertin individuals
I have a problem with my eyes. A very prominent rabbi gave me a bracha to recover, and he told me to touch my eyes with my tzitzit during morning Shema. So I do this.
I don’t believe my rabbi has magic powers. I don’t believe R. Kanievsky has magic healing powers either. But perhaps the mitzvah of asking their bracha and advice, and then following that advice, brings a z’chus which might help.
It is typical of someone that doesn’t want to put their peyos in front of their ears to make light of/mock this story in order to sooth their conscience.
This is beautiful! If you are not on the madraiga of wearing ur peyos in front of ur ears, strive to get there.
YOU are totally wrong! There’s NO difference in the mesora of levush between litvish and chassidish I AM A PROUD LITVAK A DESCENDENT OF MANY OF THE BIGGEST IN THE LITVISH WORLD INCLUDING THE GAON OF VILNA, ALL had full beards and long PAYOS ONLY AFTER HASKOLA AND REFORM AND ANTI JEWISH LAWS THINGS STARTED TO CHANGE
There is a picture of the Vilna Gaon that is supposed to be authentic, I don’t recall noticing long peiyos there. Beard yes, of course. There are different shitos/minhogim re peiyos among different eidos in Klal Yisroel, whether Sefardim, different Chasidic groups, Ashkenazim, Teimanim, and others.
The story doesn’t say that one needs long peiyos, it just says that Rav Chaim doesn’t hold of putting them behind the ears. Look at Rav Chaim himself. He doesn’t seem to have ‘long peiyos’.
This story can also serve to answer the question asked by comment # 4.
In any case, it’s an eye-opener.
(Btw, # 4, the word is spelled “certain”.)
I don’t recall by which Tzaddik (or when)this took place, but the story goes something like this:
A childless woman asked a Tzaddik for his blessing that she should bear children.
He told her that she should begin to cover her hair.
The woman challenged the Tzaddik by commenting that she has many friends that don’t cover their hair, and yet they have many children!
The Tzaddik patiently explained to her that people’s souls are, in a way, like people’s bodies.
Some people’s bodies react more violently to eating certain unhealthy foods, or other unhealthy practices.
Some people could smoke, or eat fatty foods, and still maintain their health into old age.
And some people get sick very quickly from such behaviour.
Some bodies also have certain allergies. And they range in their allergic reactions from mild (a small rash) to severe (death within minutes).
Conversely, some Neshomos are affected differently from certain Aveiros (or Mitzvos) than others.
He told the woman that her soul happens to be more sensitive to her sin of lack of Tznius than her friends.
And that, in turn, is having the extended effect of preventing her merit of having children.
The story allegedly ends that she complied and conceived.
Wearing Payos prominently exposed is just a Hiddur-Mitzvah.
There is no such obligation.
(Btw, interesting note, that beautifying one’s Payos is the only instance/manner of Hiddur-Mitzvah for a “Lav”.
Think about it.)
Apparently, Rav Kanievsky’s divine inspiration felt that this particular merit (of exposing this child’s Payos) is the antidote for this child’s particular soul. (And in many many ways the soul effects the body.)And consequently it may cure this particular ailment.
Live and learn.
The following story can also serve to answer the question asked by comment # 4.
In any case, it’s an eye-opener.
(Btw, # 4, the word is spelled “certain”.)
I don’t recall by which Tzaddik (or when) this took place, but the story goes something like this:
A childless woman asked a Tzaddik for his blessing that she should bear children.
He told her that she should begin to cover her hair.
The woman challenged the Tzaddik by commenting that she has many friends that don’t cover their hair, and yet they have many children!
The Tzaddik patiently explained to her that people’s souls are, in a way, like people’s bodies.
Some people’s bodies react more violently to eating certain unhealthy foods, or other unhealthy practices.
Some people could smoke, or eat fatty foods, and still maintain their health into old age.
And some people get sick very quickly from such behaviour.
Some bodies also have certain allergies. And they range in their allergic reactions from mild (a small rash) to severe (death within minutes).
Conversely, some Neshomos are affected differently from certain Aveiros (or Mitzvos) than others.
He told the woman that her soul happens to be more sensitive to her sin of lack of Tznius than her friends.
And that, in turn, is having the extended effect of preventing her merit of having children.
The story allegedly ends that she complied and conceived.
Wearing Payos prominently exposed is just a Hiddur-Mitzvah.
There is no such obligation.
(Btw, interesting note, that beautifying one’s Payos is the only instance/manner of Hiddur-Mitzvah for a “Lav”.
Think about it.)
Apparently, Rav Kanievsky’s divine inspiration felt that this particular merit (of exposing this child’s Payos) is the antidote for this child’s particular soul. (And in many many ways the soul effects the body.) And consequently it may cure this particular ailment.
Live and learn.
comment #8
My mistake the word “LONG” PAYOS was a typographical error, I meant to say PAYOS NOT hidden behind or wherever
Where the custom to put the peyos behind the ears comes from is beyond me, except perhaps by some neat freak.
What is clear is that it does not come from the historical neat and tidy Yekkes.
This is because from the writings of Rav Hirsch zt”l it is patently obvious that the peyos must be placed in front of the ears as he says the purpose of the peyos is to make a “mechitzah”, a separation between the front of the head, that houses the part of the brain governing the more sublime areas of human activity, and to obscure the back of the head, that houses the part of the brain governing the more sensual areas of human activity.
However, I doubt that Rav Chayim intends on the placing of the peyos as a zechus for the child’s recovery. Probably he intends it as a means of hiding his personal efforts towards the child’s recovery through prayer and other means. His late Rebbetzin used to employ such subterfuge as well, suggesting all sorts of segulos that worked well in her lifetime but are totally ineffectual after her passing. This was also the practice of Rav Yisroel Yaakov Fisher zt”l
Reply to #1, your login name says it all, you think you’r are a Big Chuchem,you are a BIG FOOL! nebach on you to write such a common on the Gadol Hador R Chaim Shlita, are you as big as he is to disagree with him?
Correction: Comment
“litvishe mesorah” ?!? never heard of such a thing ! i thought its just do watever you want and justify it by saying that ppl that really have a mesorah are extremists
We are not supposed to take individual private psak as a general psak.
Harav Kanievsky shlita is definitely a leader of our generation and the the tefilos and brochas of a tzadik reach the right places and many miraculous recoveries are recorded and continue to be recorded. Just like that famous story about the chometz Chaim who sent a yid to a far off village to ask for a brocha from someone pshut-and meanwhile he fasted and prayed for that yid to recover–and there are many stories like that about
The segulas and brochas received from gedolim but-not intended to make new halachos for am yisroel – the maase about moving the payes to the front is a private segula. Unless the rav declares otherwise.