Today, the 3rd of Cheshvon, is HaRav Ovadia Yosef’s Hilula (Yahrzeit).
Rita Benisti shared the following incredible story.
The surgeon faced Rav Ovadia’s children, his voice steady but somber. “Your father is not young,” he began. “I don’t want to cause him further suffering, but I need to operate immediately. I can’t use anesthesia given his condition.”
One of the sons approached Rav Ovadia, “Abba, the surgery will be painful,” he said, his voice trembling with worry. Rav Ovadia responds, “Do not worry, I’m right in the middle of learning a very complex subject in Talmud. The doctor will do what he needs to do, and I will what I need to do.”
Rav Ovadia was so deeply immersed in his learning while the surgeon performed this painful surgery. When his children entered recovery, they found him alert, asking, “Why hasn’t the doctor begun to treat me?”
The tzadik’s love for Hashem coursed through him like lifeblood. For him, studying Torah wasn’t just a task; it was essential, like breathing. When we shift our view of Torah from a mere subject to a gateway to Hashem’s love, an unquenchable thirst ignites within us, allowing us to rise above our struggles. His steadfast focus on Torah, even amid pain, reveals a powerful truth: true devotion can elevate us beyond our circumstances and connect us to something infinitely greater.
Today marks 11 years since the tzadik, Rav Ovadia Yosef’s passing. May his holiness comfort and protect all of Am Yisrael.
