Yesterday, a frum man in his late 20s sat down to eat his lunch near where my husband sat.
He invited my husband to a Torah shiur (class) he gave every Monday night at Tzomet Pat in Yerushalayim. (My husband couldn't recall more information than that—not even his name—I'm very sorry. But if you're in that area Monday night, maybe you'll get lucky and find it.)
Giving a weekly Torah shiur comprised part of his self-improvement program after his brush with death around 6 years ago.
This is what he told my husband...
He invited my husband to a Torah shiur (class) he gave every Monday night at Tzomet Pat in Yerushalayim. (My husband couldn't recall more information than that—not even his name—I'm very sorry. But if you're in that area Monday night, maybe you'll get lucky and find it.)
Giving a weekly Torah shiur comprised part of his self-improvement program after his brush with death around 6 years ago.
This is what he told my husband...
Meeting Malach Hamavet, Plus Being Put on Trial
At around age 22, this young frum man was racing down the road at around 240 kph/149 mph—for no other reason than the reckless thrill of it—when he crashed into a cement barrier.
His soul left his body and he hung around in the air for around 15 minutes, watching the ambulances arrive & the paramedics fight to bring him back to life.
Then he found himself face-to-face with an terrifying black figure sporting a head shaped like an upside-down artichoke covered with eyes. Two big eyes looked out from the front of the head and the rest of its head was covered in eyes, like the pattern of artichoke leaves covering the artichoke.
It was Malach Hamavet—the Angel of Death.
(BTW, Judaism does hold a tradition that Malach Hamavet is covered with eyes.)
Two dogs accompanied Malach Hamavet, along with many other black figures.
(Interestingly, in Tehillim 22:17, David Hamelech pleads with Hashem: "For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me..." and in Tehillim 22:21: "Save my soul from the sword; my only one from the grip of a dog"-- yechidah, translated here as "only one" is also another name for the soul.)
Grotesque and terrifying, Malach Hamavet started challenging the young man: "Why did you do this? And what about this? And this-and-such?"
The young man could not answer because you cannot lie (not even tepid excuses or accidently-on-purpose passive-aggressive stuff) in the World of Truth.
He knew he lacked real justifications for the accusations of Malach Hamavet.
Then Malach Hamavet and his frightening escorts took the young man through different worlds, where he saw angels with wings, until they arrived at the Beit Din shel Maalah (the Heavenly Court).
The young man could not see the judges.
Also, family members who'd already passed on stood in the background, but were not allowed to approach him.
(Meaning, they weren't allowed to help or defend him.)
In general, he was finding the whole experience terrifying beyond imagination.
The Beit Din was about to deliver their verdict when the young man's deceased rav showed up.
(Rav Yazdi, a disciple of Rav Kaduri.)
Rav Yazdi brought a little boy before the Beit Din, who testified that this young man assisted with a kimcha d'Pischa organization (a project to collect & deliver kosher-for-Pesach food to any Jews in need prior to Pesach).
"Because of him, I had what to eat on Pesach," concluded the little boy.
With that, the young man found himself whisked out of the Heavenly courtroom & woke up in his physical body.
Fortunately, he embraced his second chance and straightened out the lax parts of his Torah observance, upholding the mitzvot with renewed enthusiasm.
His soul left his body and he hung around in the air for around 15 minutes, watching the ambulances arrive & the paramedics fight to bring him back to life.
Then he found himself face-to-face with an terrifying black figure sporting a head shaped like an upside-down artichoke covered with eyes. Two big eyes looked out from the front of the head and the rest of its head was covered in eyes, like the pattern of artichoke leaves covering the artichoke.
It was Malach Hamavet—the Angel of Death.
(BTW, Judaism does hold a tradition that Malach Hamavet is covered with eyes.)
Two dogs accompanied Malach Hamavet, along with many other black figures.
(Interestingly, in Tehillim 22:17, David Hamelech pleads with Hashem: "For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me..." and in Tehillim 22:21: "Save my soul from the sword; my only one from the grip of a dog"-- yechidah, translated here as "only one" is also another name for the soul.)
Grotesque and terrifying, Malach Hamavet started challenging the young man: "Why did you do this? And what about this? And this-and-such?"
The young man could not answer because you cannot lie (not even tepid excuses or accidently-on-purpose passive-aggressive stuff) in the World of Truth.
He knew he lacked real justifications for the accusations of Malach Hamavet.
Then Malach Hamavet and his frightening escorts took the young man through different worlds, where he saw angels with wings, until they arrived at the Beit Din shel Maalah (the Heavenly Court).
The young man could not see the judges.
Also, family members who'd already passed on stood in the background, but were not allowed to approach him.
(Meaning, they weren't allowed to help or defend him.)
In general, he was finding the whole experience terrifying beyond imagination.
The Beit Din was about to deliver their verdict when the young man's deceased rav showed up.
(Rav Yazdi, a disciple of Rav Kaduri.)
Rav Yazdi brought a little boy before the Beit Din, who testified that this young man assisted with a kimcha d'Pischa organization (a project to collect & deliver kosher-for-Pesach food to any Jews in need prior to Pesach).
"Because of him, I had what to eat on Pesach," concluded the little boy.
With that, the young man found himself whisked out of the Heavenly courtroom & woke up in his physical body.
Fortunately, he embraced his second chance and straightened out the lax parts of his Torah observance, upholding the mitzvot with renewed enthusiasm.
The Importance of Chessed, Tzedakah, and a Connection with a Real Rav
It helps to see how the chessed we do really does matter.
Sometimes, religious girls' groups or schools go to help at a food bank or collect clothes & items for a gemach, and many other chessed activities.
Boys collect for their yeshivah, help out with kimcha d'Pischa, etc.
Many of us have engaged in such projects.
It feels more like a lark, a social activity, but it really means something in Shamayim—as shown clearly in the true story related above.
Also, connecting to a real rav helps. We hear these stories and they feature truly special rabbanim (many times, chassidic Rebbes of yore—but apparently, any real rav helps!).
Who we choose to follow matters.
A rabbi with good intellect (and maybe also charisma, plus enthralling oratorical skills), but lacking in middot and true spiritual greatness, will not be the one to come rescue you as you stand before the Beit Din shel Maalah.
(I mean, after all, we never hear stories in which a regular Rabbi Ploni Almoni intervenes.)
Furthermore, even after Rav Yazdi passed away, the young man still considered Rav Yazdi "his" rav.
So apparently, as long as you still consider yourself a talmid or chassid of that rav, his merit helps you.
We should also say Tehillim/Psalm 22 with a LOT of kavanah (heartfelt sincerity)!
And finally...don't drive recklessly!
Sometimes, religious girls' groups or schools go to help at a food bank or collect clothes & items for a gemach, and many other chessed activities.
Boys collect for their yeshivah, help out with kimcha d'Pischa, etc.
Many of us have engaged in such projects.
It feels more like a lark, a social activity, but it really means something in Shamayim—as shown clearly in the true story related above.
Also, connecting to a real rav helps. We hear these stories and they feature truly special rabbanim (many times, chassidic Rebbes of yore—but apparently, any real rav helps!).
Who we choose to follow matters.
A rabbi with good intellect (and maybe also charisma, plus enthralling oratorical skills), but lacking in middot and true spiritual greatness, will not be the one to come rescue you as you stand before the Beit Din shel Maalah.
(I mean, after all, we never hear stories in which a regular Rabbi Ploni Almoni intervenes.)
Furthermore, even after Rav Yazdi passed away, the young man still considered Rav Yazdi "his" rav.
So apparently, as long as you still consider yourself a talmid or chassid of that rav, his merit helps you.
We should also say Tehillim/Psalm 22 with a LOT of kavanah (heartfelt sincerity)!
And finally...don't drive recklessly!
When you save others, you also save yourself.
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