2 Segulot of Rabbi Zusha of Anipol in Times of Danger, Through the Words of Torah
Rabbi Zusha of Anipol, like many of our great tzadikim, saved his people during difficult and dangerous situations by reciting the sacred words of Torah.
Salvation During a Brit Milah
Once, Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz was performing a brit milah for the son of one of his Chassidim.
As they say, nothing seemed to foreshadow trouble. Suddenly, it became clear that the infant’s bleeding would not stop. They tried every known remedy. All the segulot. Everything suggested by the guests. Everything that the great Rabbi Pinchas himself knew and was capable of doing. Nothing helped.
The situation was becoming critical, and Rabbi Pinchas was also deeply distressed.
Just then, Rabbi Zusha of Anipol entered the Beit Midrash where all this was taking place.
Rabbi Zusha looked at Rabbi Pinchas, the infant, the pale father, the terrified guests, and the tables covered with untouched refreshments, and immediately said:
“Our holy Torah states explicitly (Exodus 24:11):
וְאֶל־אֲצִילֵי בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ
– ‘Ve’el atzilei vnei Yisrael lo shalach yado, vayechazu et ha-Elohim, vayochlu, vayishtu’ – (He did not raise His hand against the nobles of the children of Israel; they beheld G-d, and they ate and drank).
Rabbi Zusha explained: ‘Vayechazu et ha-Elohim’ – (they beheld G-d, ‘Elohim’) – they witnessed the manifestation of Divine strictness and fell into trouble. And what is written next?
– ‘Vayochlu, vayishtu’ – (and they ate and drank).
This means that when the threat of the Attribute of Judgment hangs over a person, whenever trouble represented by the Name ‘Elohim’ arises, one should immediately eat and drink. This sweetens the accusation Above.”
Rabbi Zusha’s authority was so great that his advice was followed immediately, and while the hot food was being served, the bleeding of the guest of honor stopped completely.
Segula for a Dangerous Situation – ‘Uv’chen, Ten Pachdecha’
The town of Anipol was under the control of a powerful count. The town was his private property, so the count could administer justice there as he pleased.
One day, a major theft took place in his palace. All attempts to find the stolen property failed, and his advisers managed to convince him that, as usual, the Jews were to blame.
The count ordered it announced throughout the streets of Anipol that if the Jews did not return the stolen property within a specified period, he would revoke their right to live in the town and evict them from their homes.
The Jews brought their plight to the tzadik. After hearing them out, Rabbi Zusha instructed them to summon a wealthy Jew who had connections at the count’s court and was trusted there. The rabbi told him to go to the count and promise in Rabbi Zusha’s name that if the count agreed to wait exactly one year, Rabbi Zusha himself would return the stolen property to him at the end of that period.
“Who will guarantee that I will truly receive my money back in a year?” the count asked. “I will be your guarantor, and if you do not receive the money, I will pay it out of my own pocket,” the Jew assured him. The nobleman agreed and postponed his decree for one year.
Time passed, month after month, but nothing happened. The wealthy man expected Rabbi Zusha to begin traveling around collecting donations in order to raise the required sum, but the tzadik calmly sat at home as usual, occupied with his affairs. The deadline drew closer, and the wealthy man began to fear seriously that he would ultimately have to pay the enormous sum.
He decided to go to Rabbi Zusha to remind him about the theft: “Don’t worry,” the Rebbe said. “You will not have to pay a penny.”
Several days before the appointed date, Rabbi Zusha asked the wealthy man to go to the count and tell him that on the appointed day, at a specified hour, all the palace servants without exception were to be lined up in the courtyard. He would come there personally and, with G-d’s help, show a miracle.
On the appointed day, all the servants were lined up in rows in the courtyard. The count himself was there as well, together with his family, courtiers, and friends. Everyone waited impatiently to see what would happen.
Rabbi Zusha, leaning on a cane, entered the courtyard and began carefully inspecting the rows of servants.
Then he turned to the count and said that one of the servants was missing. They began investigating who was absent and where he was. It turned out that one of the serfs, who was cleaning the cesspits in the stable, had not appeared. They sent for him. When everyone was finally present, Rabbi Zusha began loudly and fervently reciting a verse from the Amidah for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur:
וּבְכֵן תֵּן פַּחְדְּךָ ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ עַל כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, וְאֵימָתְךָ עַל כָּל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָאתָ, וְיִירָאוּךָ כָּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים.
– ‘Uv’chen, ten pachdecha A-do-nai Eloheinu al kol ma’asecha, ve’eimatcha al kol mah shebarata, veyira’ucha kol hama’asim’ – (And then, instill fear of You, O L-rd our G-d, in all Your creatures, [and teach] all that You have created to fear You).
He recited it with ever-increasing inspiration and intensity, and fear seized the serf who cleaned the cesspit. After Rabbi Zusha recited the pasuk for the third time, the man began trembling all over, his teeth chattering. He fell to his knees and begged the rabbi to stop reciting his prayers, promising that he would bring everything himself immediately.
Trembling, the serf ran to the stable, where he pulled a money chest from a hiding place. The money inside was completely untouched. Even the count was forced to acknowledge that the Jews have a G-d.
A similar story occurred when soldiers from a military unit arrived in town and, after getting drunk at an inn, began causing a disturbance and smashing everything around them, beating innocent passersby—an incident that threatened to develop into a pogrom. When Rabbi Zusha heard what was happening, he ran to the inn where the soldiers were causing havoc and began shouting the words of the prayer:
– ‘Uv’chen, ten pachdecha A-do-nai Eloheinu al kol ma’asecha, ve’eimatcha al kol mah shebarata, veyira’ucha kol hama’asim’ – (And then, instill fear of You, O L-rd our G-d, in all Your creatures, [and teach] all that You have created to fear You).
He repeated these words three times. The soldiers were then overcome by such fear that they abandoned their belongings and weapons and fled the town in panic. It took great effort to stop their flight. Their commanders punished the soldiers and even paid for the damage they had caused.
This verse, recited three times, saves the Jewish people in every generation. (Published with the personal permission of Rabbi Yaakov Doktor, from his book “Brothers”)
P.S.
The Power of Prayer with ‘Uv’chen’ All prayers containing the word ‘Uv’chen’ are connected with the power of Esther HaMalkah, who brought her people out of an extremely difficult situation and saved them from a mortal threat. The word ‘Uv’chen’ appears most frequently in the prayers of Rosh Hashanah. According to Chacham Ovadia, the reason is that through these words we recall Esther, for it was with these words that Esther addressed Mordechai when she heard of Haman’s decree to annihilate the Jewish people and decided to go to the king despite the risks involved: ‘U’v’chen avo el ha-melech, asher lo-hadat, vekaasher vaavadeti, avadeti’ – (and therefore I will go to the king, although it is against the law, and if I am destined to perish, I shall perish). (Megillat Esther 4:16) Ever since then, these words have given the Jewish people strength and endurance in the most difficult situations. The Zohar HaKadosh states that the gematria of the word ובכן, ‘Uv’chen,’ is 78—namely, 72 (the Name of the Almighty) plus 6, the letter ‘vav’. This letter ‘vav’ corresponds to the sixth millennium, when the complete and long-awaited Redemption from all troubles will come for Am Yisrael. (Zohar HaKadosh, 7:106)
