KabbalaOnline.org "The Singing Stutterer" Story #1309
KabbalaOnline.org "The Singing Stutterer" Story #1309
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From
the desk of Yerachmiel Tilles< editor@ascentofsafed.com>
Story #1309 (5783-15) 16 Tevet 5783 (Jan. 9, 2023)
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DEDICATION
for Mrs Shulamit Tilles, who on
Sunday of this week completed 7 decades. May
she enjoy more decades of good health and good news.
and
Dedicated
with hearty Mazal Tov wishes and for
the merit of
DANIEL SRAGOWICZ
on his birthday.
With blessings for a year of material and spiritual success in good health and
simcha.
The
Story in PDF
format for more convenient printing
THE SINGING
STUTTERER
It is always a special experience to hear Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu
Dan from Paris when he leads the prayers. Each word has its suitable trill,
no syllable is pronounced by habit. Those listening would never guess that the
possessor of this melodious voice not so long ago stuttered and had difficulty
to speak clearly.
To understand how this happened we have to go back to the beginning,
over six decades ago.
Rabbi Dan's father was one of the survivors of the 1929 Arab pogrom
in Hebron.
1 He left Israel as soon as he was old enough, and immigrated to
France. There he married, but to the young couple’s sorrow, they remained
childless. When they finally accepted that there was no chance of their having
children together, the wife, with great sacrifice, suggested to her husband
that they get divorced and he marry her friend. In spite of the hardship they
took this drastic step, and that is how Rabbi Dan’s father came to marry Rabbi
Dan’s mother.
On the holiday of Shavuot in the year 1963, in the seventh month of
her pregnancy, the expectant mother went to the chasidic synagogue in the Pletzel the Jewish neighborhood in Paris. [ In this
synagogue theLubavitcher Rebbe prayed during his stay in Paris in the
beginning of the Second World War .]
After the prayer service a farbrengen (chasidic gathering)
was held. During the farbrengen, one of the participants cried out very loudly,
which shocked the young woman so much, to the extent that it caused the onset
of birth pangs.
She was rushed to the hospital where several hours later she gave
birth to a tiny, fragile, pre-mature baby boy.
Developing slowly, the baby stayed several months in the incubator
under his parents worried and watchful eyes. When finally the brit mila (circumcision)
could be performed the parents breathed a sigh of relief. Many of the Jews of
the Jewish community in Paris rejoiced together with them.
The newborn was named Shmuel-Eliyahu.
When ShmuelEliyahu reached the age of beginning to speak, it became
clear that he stuttered. The doctors were of the opinion that this handicap was
caused by the shock the mother experienced when in the synagogue. They had no
cure for this congenital affliction.
The parents accepted the situation…but Shmuel Eliyahu did not! In
spite of his severe handicap, or maybe because of it, Shmuel Eliyahu already as
a child fell in love with songs and chazanut (cantorial music). He felt
that he needed to find a way to overcome his difficulty with articulation.
Years went by. Shmuel Eliyahu studied in institutions whose
interpretations of Torah, although genuine, were far removed from a chasidic
way of life.
His connection with Chabad and especially with the Lubavitcher Rebbe
came about through the Rebbe's emissary, Rabbi Yaakov Biton, from
Sarcelles. It began with the wedding of Rabbi Biton. The two were already close
friends and during the week before the wedding Shmuel Eliyah accompanied the
groom everywhere [according to the Jewish custom that neither
bride nor groom should go out alone during the week before the wedding 2] .
After the wedding and the following festive week, Rabbi Biton flew
to New York to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He suggested to Shmuel Eliyahu to join
him.
"You will thank me for every moment you will spend in the
presence of the Rebbe," he promised.
"And he was right," says Rabbi Dan today [2005].
"It was during the month of Tishrei 1987 that I arrived in
Brooklyn to be near the Rebbe. I stayed in President Street. Close to me lived
the musician brothers, Yossi and Avi Piamenta. A friendship was soon
established between us. I loved spending time with them and enjoyed using my
voice musically.
"It must be mentioned in their favor that they ignored my
severe stuttering; instead they praised my vocal abilities. The openness and
affection they showed me captured my heart.
"In their merit I started to believe more in myself. As is
natural, I felt attracted to the world of those who embraced me with such
kindness, the world of Chabad.
"The final stage of my entrance to the world of chasidut was on
the night following Simchat Torah that month.
"As was his custom, the Rebbe poured wine from his cup kos
shel bracha – "cup of blessing" to all those present, while all
the chasidim stood around and sang enthusiastically. My friends told me that at
this special occasion the Rebbe gives plentiful blessings to whomever asks.
"The truth is that I was extremely shy to speak to the Rebbe,
but I decided that I owed this to myself. I needed to overcome the
embarrassment and to ask for a blessing to be rid of the disturbing stuttering.
"I pushed my way into the line. When I was standing before the
Rebbe, I took courage and asked for a blessing. The Rebbe's words, spoken
amongst the tumult of the singing around him, astounded me with the divine
spirit they revealed: "You will stop stuttering by means of singing."
"I left the shul shaking all over from emotion. How did the
Rebbe know that I love to sing?
"From then on, adhering to the guidance of the Rebbe, I sang
and sang at each opportunity. It wasn’t a long time before the blessing of the
Rebbe was realized: the stutter disappeared as if it had never been!"
With twinkling eyes Rabbi Dan concluded, "The greatest merit I
experienced was once being chazan (cantor) in the Rebbe's minyan,
in his presence.
"Every opportunity that comes my way I try to use my voice in
order to gladden other Jews. I feel that in this manner I express my great
gratitude to G-d for the miracle he made for me, through the blessing of the
Rebbe.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Freely adapted and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from the
first-draft translation by C. R. Benami, long-time editorial assistant for www.AscentOfSafed.com , of an article in HaGeula #1166.
Connection: This
week's Torah Reading of Shmot tells us that Moses had a stuttering
problem (Ex. 4:10).
* when Muslims slaughtered 67 (or 69 – Wiki)
Jewish residents and yeshiva students with axes, hatchets and swords. Many
dozens of others were seriously wounded or maimed.
À Therefore, this story is also dedicated to the memory and
soul-elevation of my very good friend whom I
grew up with, Zvi-Yehuda ben Yitzchak Elchanon & Esther Saks, who
loyally flew in from Costa Rica to be my “chaperone” during the week
before my wedding. He also stayed a few days after, during which he helped me
to toivel (immerse) all the new dishes, pots, and cutlery—an act which
took us over an hour standing naked up to our waists in a men’s mikveh, and
which I am convinced had a significant influence on his soon after becoming
mitzvah-observant! —Y.T.
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