On Sunday night, September 28, the community gathered at the home of Danny and Elisheva Gazal for a moving event hosted by Bikur Cholim of Queens, titled From Struggle to Splendor.
The featured speaker, Mrs. Dina Brainy Smith, an inspirational lecturer, began with a story about the Kotzker Rebbe. The Rebbe had a chavrusa he learned with regularly. One day, the chavrusa asked, “How did you become who you are? How were you able to grow so close to Hashem?”
The Rebbe replied that Hashem wanted him to keep trying to draw closer. “I kept jumping, trying to reach Him,” the Rebbe said. “I did it a hundred times, and each time I didn’t know if I was getting anywhere. But I jumped once more. And that last time, I felt Hashem pulling me close.”
Mrs. Smith then posed a powerful question: “What do you want your children to remember about you after 120 years?” She shared her own answer: “I want them to remember that I tried. Success is from Hashem – trying is my part.”
She went on to describe a personal challenge. When her daughter told her she wanted to attend Harvard, Mrs. Smith was concerned that it wasn’t a place where she would grow in yir’as Shamayim. She did everything she could to prevent it, but in the end, her daughter was going. Mrs. Smith reminded herself, “If I’ve done my hishtadlus and she’s still going, then this must be what Hashem wants.” Before her daughter left, she made her a festive farewell meal, and the family wore sweatshirts that said, “Chasid in Harvard.”
Mrs. Smith shared another parable she told her children: “Just as Hashem places hundreds of pinecones together on a single tree, He doesn’t need my help arranging shidduchim.”
She described speaking to a group of teenagers once and asking, “Has anyone here experienced a miracle in the past 24 hours? Raise your hand.” No one did. “That’s strange,” she said. “I’ve experienced over 30,000 miracles today. None of you are breathing? None of you woke up? None of you can see, hear, touch, or taste?”
She also told of visiting one of her students in a psychiatric ward, where she met a Jewish girl pacing in the hallway. The girl said she had given up on religious observance because she felt Hashem had ignored her. Mrs. Smith asked, “Does that mean you haven’t been breathing for the past two years? You haven’t eaten?” She then challenged the girl to write a list of 100 things Hashem had done for her between Monday and Thursday, offering $100 if she did.
When Mrs. Smith returned, the girl handed her two full columns of blessings. After receiving the money, the girl took the challenge further. Soon after, she told Mrs. Smith that she had kept Shabbos for the first time in two years. Eventually, she came home and attended seminary.
Mrs. Smith said she had taught her daughter in playgroup that every Jew is part of am Yisrael. “On Rosh HaShanah, our avodah is to truly know that Hashem is King – to make it real for ourselves.”
She emphasized that Hashem loves us and that everything He does is ultimately for our good. “Hashem is always with me, and everything He does is good,” she said. “That is our avodah all year long: to believe that everything that happens to us is from Hashem.”
She concluded by reflecting that Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur remind us that every ability we have comes from Hashem, and that He enables us to do all that we do.
The community expressed deep gratitude for the holy work of Bikur Cholim of Queens and for this inspiring evening. BCQ continues to raise awareness about its vital services and hopes to expand its dedicated volunteer base through outreach to new neighborhoods.
To volunteer or donate, visit www.bikurcholimqueens.org.