355 - Back From the Dead

Our job in this world is to grow in our belief in Emunah and everything that that entails. As we've discussed, one of the potent areas Hashem has given us the privilege to be able to tap into is the words of Tehillim, the holy words of David HaMelech. And again, our job is to believe that our recitation of the words of Tehillim are making an impact. Even though we may not be able to experience and see the result of our actions, our job is to grow in our Emunah, in our belief that just like if a soldier is fighting in a war, when that soldier makes an effort and shoots a terrorist with his gun and sees the direct result of his actions, because the terrorist is now dead. In the same way, when we say Tehillim, we are protecting the people around us, we are making a tremendous impact in ways that we cannot imagine.

The following story that Rebetzin Tehillah Abramov recounts helps us to internalize a little bit of how the words of Tehillim are actually making a difference. There was a woman driving on the highway in Israel and suddenly there was a tremendous traffic jam, a complete standstill. This woman's custom was that whenever she'd be in a situation such as this, she would begin to say the words of Tehillim. Eventually, the traffic cleared up and she went home. About three months later, this woman attended a parents-teachers meeting at her child's school, and while she was there, another woman came over to her and said, “Hi, I know you don't know me, but I just want to thank you with all my heart for saving my life.” So, the woman says, “those are very kind words, but I have no idea what you're talking about.” And the woman who approached her says, “do you remember about three months ago, you were stuck on the highway in a standstill traffic jam? And whilst you were stuck in the traffic, you began to recite Tehillim?”

Now this woman is completely taken aback because she didn't tell anybody in the world about the traffic jam, nor about the fact that she recited Tehillim in the car. So, she's in complete wonder how this other woman knows that she was saying Tehillim in that traffic jam. So, the woman who approached now says, do you know the reason for that traffic jam on that day was because there was a car accident on the highway. I was the individual in that accident. And the accident was so severe that I actually died, what's called a near death experience. And she reported to the lady, I was floating above my car higher and higher because I was leaving this world. And suddenly there were some alef-beis letters that emerged from your car and pushed me back down into my car, which is when I came back to life, went to hospital, got the treatment I needed, and here I am. There are many, many stories recounted in a similar manner. But the bottom line is that there is no question that our words of Tehillim are making a tremendous impact. We all have the opportunity to say the holy words of Tehillim.