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Baila Brikman, Beis Moshiach

David Eli Rosengard was a doctor. At home, in Boston, Massachusetts, he took care of the other people in his community – and when he wasn’t doing that, he was working in the U.S. Army. He was a lieutenant colonel.

You have to work very hard for a very long time to become a lieutenant colonel! His main job was to visit countries during wars to look after any sick and hurt soldiers. It’s a very important job!

In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and the Korean War began. There were many horrible battles, and many people were killed. To help South Korea win the war, President Truman ordered American soldiers to go and fight and help south Korea. Evil leaders ran North Korea, and they had to be stopped from all the trouble they were making.

The soldiers left their families at home and went to fight, ready to risk their lives to help South Korea come out on top!

Everything was going as planned until something terrible happened: all the soldiers that were sent to a certain island in the South Pacific ocean started getting very sick. They had a mysterious stomach bug, and no one knew where they were getting it from. Instead of feeling strong enough to fight, the soldiers lay sick in bed, unable to help with the war.

As time went on, things were only getting worse. Unfortunately, the soldiers weren’t getting better. Every day more and more would turn up sick. The commanders were very worried for these soldiers, but they didn’t know how to help them.

They only had one choice left: find a doctor… a good one.

***

Rrrringggg!

Doctor Rosengard lifted the telephone. “Hello?”

“Doctor, this is your commanding officer. I’m calling you with official orders. You’re needed on an island in the South Pacific.”

Doctor Rosengard’s eyes widened. “Yes, sir. I’ll get ready right away – but is it okay if I ask what’s wrong? What do they need me for?”

“American soldiers stationed there are falling ill with a mysterious stomach disease,” the officer revealed. “Your job is to figure out what it is and what’s causing it – and what can fix it. We’re running out of time; these soldiers are needed in the Korean war.”

“Yes, sir! Understood!” Doctor Rosengard put down the phone and jumped out of his seat. An order is an order – he had to pack his bags.

However, before he set off on his mission, he knew he had to do one thing: visit the Lubavitcher Rebbe and get a bracha. The problem was that he didn’t know how he could get a yechidus in time. Usually, people had to wait for ages to get one, and he had to leave as soon as possible.

I’ll call Rabbi Krinsky, the Rebbe’s secretary, he decided. His family lives here in Boston, and I’ve been their doctor for a long time – I’m sure he’ll do everything he can to help me.

He picked up the phone and dialed the secretary’s number. “Rabbi Krinsky, I was called to the South Pacific to help the soldiers who are sick. Can you please arrange a yechidus for me with the Rebbe? It’s really important! I’d like to get a bracha before I go.”

Sure enough, Rabbi Krinsky managed to get him a yechidus! Doctor Rosengard rushed to New York and got there just in time.

When he entered the Rebbe’s room, he explained to him his mission. “I’m being sent to find a cure for some sick soldiers. I’m asking the Rebbe for a bracha that I should be successful.”

To his surprise, the Rebbe didn’t just give a bracha. Instead, the Rebbe took out a map of the area where the soldiers were getting sick.

“The military is doing secret nuclear tests in this area,” the Rebbe revealed, pointing at a specific spot on the map. “These tests are putting dangerous chemicals in the ocean. The soldiers eat fish from that ocean. The harmful chemicals are being passed from the fish onto the soldiers, and that’s why they’re getting so sick.”

Doctor Rosengard was so shocked that he didn’t even realize he’d been listening with his mouth dropped open the entire time. He’d just come for a bracha – this was the last thing he expected the Rebbe to tell him. How did he even know about this?

“If you want to save the soldiers, here’s what you need to do as soon as you arrive,” the Rebbe instructed. “Go to the beach after high tide and take samples of the water and fish.

When you test them, you’ll find traces of those dangerous chemicals. You should be able to use this information to cure the soldiers. If nothing else, you can at least stop them from eating the fish!”

Doctor Rosengard was… shocked. It’s been said before, but there really is no other word for it – shock. Complete shock. The Rebbe was talking like he was a general in the army! Seriously – where did he get this information? It must be top-secret.

And it wasn’t like he could just see the problem himself – the soldiers were out in the middle of the ocean, on the other side of the world! The doctor decided it was probably best not to ask too many questions. He didn’t have the time, anyway. People were counting on him. He thanked the Rebbe over and over again and promised to follow his instructions.

Soon enough, he boarded the plane and headed across the ocean to South Korea. When he arrived, there were so many things to take care of! He got so busy trying to help the sick soldiers feel better, that he actually forgot to do what the Rebbe had told him to do.

A week passed, and nothing was changing. Nothing he did seemed to help! The soldiers lay sick in bed, just like before. Doctor Rosengard sat in his room, feeling discouraged.

All of a sudden, he remembered the Rebbe’s words. How could he have forgotten? He jumped to his feet and went down to the beach, arriving just in time for high tide. It brought big waves crashing to the shore, washing up dozens of fish onto the sand.

Doctor Rosengard scooped up some of the fish and filled up a big bucket with ocean water. He brought them back with him and gave them to his helpers to have them tested.

When the tests were complete, an officer burst into Doctor Rosengard’s room. “Doctor, you won’t believe what we found! The fish and ocean water is full of dangerous chemicals! No wonder all our soldiers are getting sick!”

Wow! It was exactly as the Rebbe had said!

…Seriously, where did he get this information?

Well, right now, that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that the Rebbe had been right, and the doctor finally had what he needed to help the soldiers get well again.

“Aha!” Doctor Rosengard exclaimed. “Order all the soldiers to stop eating the fish at once.”

He picked up the phone and dialed his commanding officer’s number. “We found the problem!” he exclaimed, “Apparently, there’s secret nuclear testing going on near the area. The fish are full of dangerous chemicals. Once the soldiers stop eating the fish, they should be cured!”

The commanding officer was quiet as he listened. When he finally spoke, he didn’t sound too excited. “Impossible,” he asked. “I would have been told if someone was doing nuclear tests nearby. Keep looking. It must be something else.”

Just like that, he dismissed all of Doctor Rosengard’s findings.

Doctor Rosengard put down the phone, feeling very disappointed. He knew that he was right, but the commanding officer just didn’t want to believe him! He was too prideful; he refused to believe that something important could be happening without him knowing about it. Because of this pride, the soldiers had to keep waiting to get better.

Luckily, they didn’t have to wait too long. A week later, the front page of the New York Times, one of the biggest newspapers, picked up the story. Someone had written an entire article about the area’s secret nuclear testing. There were sources and evidence that proved it was all real and true. After that, the commanding officer had no choice but to admit that Doctor Rosengard was right. He was able to put aside his pride so that their army could start to feel better.

The Rebbe had known information that even top officers in the military didn’t know. From far away in 770, he was able to see what was going on across the ocean and help Doctor Rosengard save the soldiers’ lives.

Not even top-secret information is secret from the Rebbe. With incredible vision and ruach hakodesh, he can see everything that’s going on in the entire world.

Adapted from an Interview with JEM My Encounter Interview #399

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