“You have nothing to worry about, your music is mechayeh people”

I was on the way to the airport here in New York, planning to travel to Eretz Yisrael, but I felt uneasy somehow about the flight. I called my rebbe to get a brachah, and as soon as the Rebbetzin heard I was on the phone, she started to say, “I don’t know why you should be concerned. You have nothing to worry about, your music is mechayeh people, it gives them happiness and hope and saves people, you have a big zechus.” I got the brachah and disconnected, and just a second later, someone called me to tell me that I had saved the day for his son, in a big way: I was singing at a bar mitzvah, and in the middle of the evening, long before the festivities should have ended, the boy’s mother had to leave for the hospital to give birth. Of course, it was very upsetting for the bochur, because it was his special night and the event felt like it was fizzling out. I stayed and sang for a long time, singing together with him, putting everything I had into it, and the father was calling to thank me. Sometimes Hashem sends us a very timely burst of chizuk.

—Isaac Honig

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 945)