It had come time for Mr. F. to move into an assisted living facility. Since they were in need of space, someone called Mr. L. and asked if he could have Mr. F. stay with him for the night; however, after Mr. L kindly said yes, they said it would need to be for a month. Mr. L. said, “As long as whomever you put in my room is a good person, I don’t mind having him stay with me.”
The next day, Mr. F. came, and he was not the kind person Mr. L. was promised. He was angry, wanted to be left alone, and repeatedly asked to leave. Mr. L. called the man up to say that Mr. F. must go, and the man said, please keep him for a night. Mr. L. went to tell Mr. F the good news: He would be getting out of there tomorrow, and maybe they could be friends for the night and call a truce. Mr. F., still grumpy, said no and told Mr. L. to stop being so cheerful because he had nothing to be joyful about. Mr. L. was so confused about how he could say that and responded, “Mr. F., I am the one in the wheelchair! How can you say you have nothing to be cheerful about?” Mr. F responded, “I cannot see your wheelchair because, for the past 10 years, I have been blind.” Mr. L. was astonished, no one had mentioned that Mr. F. was blind! He then told Mr. F. that the following morning, they would sit by the window for 30 minutes. Mr. L. would be his eyes and describe what he sees.to Mr. F.
The next morning, Mr. L. woke Mr. F. at 5:45 a.m.and invited him to get up and sit with him by the window. For 30 minutes, Mr L. described everything in detail. Mr. F., though reluctant to admit it, told Mr. L., “You actually aren’t so crazy. I feel like I can see again. Can we do this again tomorrow?” With that, Mr. F. and Mr. L. became best friends, lived together, and did this exercise together every day.
One morning, Mr. F. realized that Mr. L. hadn’t woken up and he started screaming: Mr. L! Mr. L.!but received no answer. He clicked the button for the nurse to come and she said that Mr. F. had passed away last night; she thought he knew. He said: “It can’t be! He died and I lost my eyes again!”The nurse said to Mr.. F, “You have been blind for 10 years!” He then asked what time it was and she said 8 o’clock. He said, “ Okay, look out the window and you’ll see a lady walking her dog. What is her facial expression today?” The nurse replied, “ There is no window. Mr. L. was a painter so he never wanted windows. Mr. F. felt the wall that he usually sat by and realized there was no window. He said to the nurse: “Mr. L. was more than a kind person, he was an angel who was willing to sit for 10 hours in front of a wall to make me feel like I could see again.”
This is this week’s Parsha, Bo, and last week’s Parsha, Va’era. In these Parshiot, Hashem sent Makkot, plagues, to make Bnei Yisrael less grumpy. He wanted to show the truth as to who He is and His love for the Jewish people. Hashem recognized that Bnei Yisrael couldn’t see and instead of letting us be in pain and sadness, he decided to send the plagues. These plagues were above nature and should not necessarily have happened. However, Hashem took the time to create what Bnei Yisrael needed. He gave them something to see the truth, something to recognize His love for them and that He is there. May we always be able to see Hashem’s miracles and look at the world as if there are windows of beauty!
Shira Sedek is a passionate educator currently working toward a master’s degree at Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.
