The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

I had heard the news via a text.

Yisroel ben Esther was awake and alert.

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to Hashem.

Yet, our Tefillos are still very much needed, and the path to a complete recovery is still before us.

I encourage one and all to continue their Tehillim and Tefillos.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill in his famous address in 1942, after the first major victory of the Allies, against the Nazis, “This is not the end…rather it is the end of the beginning.“

The beginning nightmarish period of “When will he awaken?” has ended through the kindness of Hashem.

Yet, let us not let our guard down as we must continue to daven for Yisroel’s complete recovery, and in equal measure, we must continue to ensure that no one gets on a vehicle without a helmet.

When I arrived at the hospital, it was not the most convenient time for Yisroel to accept visitors.

Eli, Yisroel’s father, allowed me to enter for a moment to personally wish Yisroel a Refuah Sheleima.

As I walked in, Eli looked at Yisroel and asked, “Do you know who that is?”

Yisroel looked at me with a look that only a fifteen-year-old can give a rabbi.

He glanced at me with surprised recognition as if to say, “Why is Rabbi Eisenman here?”

The look alone was worth a million dollars.

Yet, even a million dollars for his surprised and alert look could not compare to the worth of the words he uttered loudly and

clearly in answer to his father’s question.

“That’s Rabbi Eisenman.”

I am not fond of being called “Rabbi’ Eisenman.

Compared to others, the title does not fit.

Nevertheless, never in the last forty years did the sound of those two words, “Rabbi Eisenman,” sound as sweet and as precious as they did coming from the mouth of Yisroel ben Esther.

As I turned to leave, I did not forget to say thank you to He who heals all.

We know that the Shechina resides at the bedside of the Choleh.

This morning, His presence was keenly felt in the room.

As I returned to the elevator, the words came naturally and without prompting: “Hodu L’Hashem Ki Tov, Ki L’olam Chasdo.”