Feldheim Publ. 189 pp.
Just one word. Amen.
Amen, denoting blessing. Amen, denoting confirmation, or a
declaration. A declaration of faith in Hashem.
Me, too: Just one word. Amen.
Dear readers, this book has my confirmation that it deserves
to be on the bookshelf of every house, not just as a reader.
And my hearty blessings, too. (Even without the fact that I
did one of its stories...)
"Open this book and discover the strength of just one word, a
precious, powerful word. Read — how it can open all the
Heavenly gates, enriching you with good fortune and success."
And discover, as well, those unfortunates who forfeited all
kinds of blessings by unconsciously defaulting on that one
precious word.
I guess this is an instant generation where you look for
quick solutions, where you want to be `connected' all the
time. A generation of words. Well, this one fits the bill
perfectly. It is a one-word ticket to eternity. But if this
sounds flippant, that's because it is truly hard to believe
that this three-letter word packs in so much.
Many of the readers have been moved to tears or high emotion
by hearing the kinetic message of Rebbetzin Meisels, daughter
of the late Bobover Rov zt'l. Ever since her tragic
misfortune, she has taken it upon herself to spread the word
of the importance of replying `Amen,' and has been doing so
on many continents. (I have heard her three times, and each
time was moved to tears. The second was at a school Bas
Mitzva gathering where her keynote address was surely
internalized by mothers and daughters alike.) She is the one
who inspired the writing of this very book in a random
participant of one of her talks.
In her foreword to Esther Stern's book, the rebbetzin
writes:
"It was on the first day of shivah for my daughter
Malkie, who was killed in a tragic car accident at the age of
twenty-six. She had been traveling home from Meron, where she
had gone for her three-year-old's upsheren. A close
friend, a teacher at our school [Bobov] in Bat Yam, entered
the dining room. She took a seat among my family and
friends...
"`What was Malkie's full name?' she asked.
"`Alte Nechama Malka,' I replied.
"`Oh,' she remarked. `The first letters of her name spell the
word `amen.'
"She didn't say much more, only the traditional words of
comfort..."
Later that night, the rebbetzin mentioned to her husband what
her friend had said. They spent that night learning the
sefer `Ve'imru Omein' and the project was born.
"Omein is emuna. This word seemed to talk to me
personally."
When her husband first broke the news to her and saw her
great despair, he said, "I beg of you, take care that the
emunah in our home stay firm! It must not crack.
Hashem's ways are just. Make your father, the Bobover Rov,
zt'l, proud of you. Show him that during such a
difficult nisoyon, you are doing what a true bas
Yisroel is supposed to do."
The rebbetzin tells of letters pouring in, telling her how
the one word has changed lives. People recite blessings with
more kavono, since they must be said out loud in order
to be answered.
Seventy-two very fascinating stories, true of course, and
parables, fill this book, along with some halochos
that open up one's eyes. It is also peppered with insights
and gematriyos, like the following:
The word ne'eman, faithful, is made up of the word
eim with two noons (numerically valued at 100).
If a mother invests effort in teaching her children to recite
the required (one hundred daily) blessings aloud, and to
answer amen when they hear one recited, she is
gauranteed that her home will be a faithful Jewish home.
This book is systematically arranged into sections. It
combines contemporary tales with stories from our holy
sources. The first one involves R' Moshe Feinstein
ztzvk'l:
It begins with a doctor who is now part of the staff of
Maayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak. He tells how he
became an observant Jew [excerpted from his story].
"About eighteen years ago, I was treating a terminally ill
patient. His body was gradually ceasing to function —
his days were clearly numbered. After deliberating the case
with a number of specialists, I presented the following
option to the patient and his family: He could undergo
complicated surgery that might lengthen his life by another
six months, but it would be expensive and very painful."
The son said that he could not make the decision on his own.
"Only R' Moshe Feinstein can answer that question."
The doctor offered to accompany him and personally present
the intricacies of the case. He was interested to see how the
Rov would deal with the situation.
"What followed [he relates] will forever be etched in my
memory. R' Feinstein began to cry. He cried real tears,
bitter tears, his sobbing audible in the room. For almost
twenty minutes he wept. As a professional, I know how we
gradually learn to detach, how years of experience numb our
sensitivities. Yet this Rav, who met countless people a day,
was moved so intensely..."
R' Moshe asked for a day to consider. When they returned, he
replied with confidence, "Go ahead and have the surgery."
"The expression on my face must have revealed my skepticism,
because R' Feinstein then addressed me, saying, `In the half
a year reprieve this surgery will grant our friend, he will
have the merit of answering amen to many
berachos. Each amen will create a guardian
angel for him. These angels will defend him... and he will be
granted a long life in their merit."
The doctor was amazed that R' Moshe felt it would all be
worthwhile... What is more, R' Feinstein believed that these
words could actually interfere with nature. "At that moment,
I realized that there must be something profound to Torah and
mitzvos."
Indeed, the patient outlived the doctors' grim prognosis by
several years and the doctor became observant...
And the story ends with one of the many amazing insights
into the magic word:
Every amen creates a guardian angel, R' Moshe had
said. In fact, omein has the same numerical value as
the word malach, angel — ninety-one!
This is a book that I believe will hasten the coming of
Moshiach! That is, if people read it and implement its so-
simple formula: answering amen and amen, yehei
shmei... with all one's heart. Witness the life-saving
miracles that abound in it, truly, people terminally ill
springing back to many productive years of life, barren
couples being blessed...
In my haste to review this for the public benefit, I began
reading it quickly and dog-earing pages that I felt would be
good for this review. But my goodness! The book, days old,
already looks thirty years old by now and I haven't finished.
And that's how I am sure your copy will look as well.
Halfway through, there is a piece called "Young Boys at
Work." Maybe you can do something with it, too.
The author writes about an old Yerushalmi minhag
carried out in many shuls on Shabbos mornings. Just before
mussaf, all the young boys, including those who have
strayed outside to play, gather close to the oron
kodesh and together, in their pure, sweet voices, they
answer the words of praise that pierce the Heavens: Amen,
yehei Shmei Rabba... (Afterwards, they are duly awarded
with a treat!)
She goes on to quote sources — the Chofetz Chaim wrote
that this practice with young children "saves thousands of
people from death." And she follows up with incredible
stories actually bearing this out!
A sequel to this book could easily be written with stories of
the same kind. In our own neighborhood, we witnessed the
power of concentrating upon our asher yotzar blessings
(which has its own section, as well). Many women were asked
to join a mishmeres for the benefit of a neighbor who
fell into a coma and were asked to concentrate upon asher
yotzar besides. His organs had stopped functioning and he
was all hooked up to machines.
His wife informed the doctors, who had just about given up on
him, what we were doing, and lo and behold! Very soon, his
kidneys began to function once again and now he is out of the
coma and recuperating! The mishmeres was for two weeks
and when it was up, on Tu Bishvat, the participants got a
letter in their mailbox telling us how effective it had been,
though he still needs our prayers...
This is not the end. The happy ending will be when the whole
world recognizes that Hashem is One. And may we be there to
witness it, speedily in our days.
AMEN V'AMEN!
