A noted scholar visited the Rebbe during the shiva period of the Rebbe's beloved wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, o.b.m. At that time the visitor urged the Rebbe to guard his health and well-being because of his importance to so many people.

The visitor uttered the request reluctantly since it could have been interpreted as an expression of chutzpah. Yet he mustered the courage to express his concern bolstered by the semichah[26] he had received from great Torah scholars of the previous generation.

The Rebbe responded by quoting the words of his father-in-law: "The sign of a healthy person is one who does not feel himself. For otherwise, the mere 'feeling' of his own physical being would be indicative of a deficiency in his health and a silent call for help. Better that I should not have to watch my health at all, since from the outset I will be healthy."

The Talmud states: One who "feels" his head (because of a headache) should preoccupy himself in Torah study. If the Talmud recommends this remedy for someone already suffering, how much more so does this remedy apply when preventing an ache.

Toras Menachem / Menachem Tziyon, vol. 1, p. 153

   

Notes:

26. (Back to text) Rabbinic ordination.