WHEN AN ARAB NURSE RECITED THE SHEMA IN THE FINAL MOMENTS OF A CHASSIDIC PATIENT'S LIFE
Maehr Ibrahim is an Arab Muslim nurse in the HaEmek Hospital in Northern Israel who works in the Corona Ward. One of his patients was a Chabad Chassid Reb Shlomo Glastner Z"L who suddenly took a turn for the worse and began declining rapidly. The Hospital notified the family who rushed to come from Netanya where they lived, but due to the snowstorm got stuck in terrible traffic and didn't make it in time.
The family was devastated by the loss and especially that they didn't make it in time, so the Nurse decided to tell them what he had done and he sees that the daughter was shedding tears when he told her.I read this story in Hebrew and wrote it up in English as I thought it was moving, beautiful and powerful on so many levels.
WHY THE SHEMA?
Yet why is the Shema so important, why is it something that we read twice a day in the morning and evening, and again at other important moments such as at the end of Yom Kippur, and why is it read at the end of one's life?
Jewish teachings explain that the prayer of the Shema and especially the first verse contain some of the cornerstones of Judaism which we constantly seek to remind ourselves with as we go about our lives, and for this reason we read it so often and at such lifecycle moments.
The first verse contains the powerful idea of the oneness of G-d and how all of the universe is a part of that, and as we say that verse we think of how we want the way we live our life to reflect this ideal. Practically speaking this means that we hope that what drives us and motivates our day to day decisions and interactions should be the awareness and appreciation of the purpose of life itself.
Later, the Shema talks about loving G-d and the values that G-d's encourages us to live by and how these ethics and principles should be so important and intrinsic to who we are. Understanding these principles and living by them even when it isn't always popular or easy, is part of the message that we reflect on when we read those words. Then the Shema moves on to the value of education and passing on these morals and teachings to the next generation, as well as trying to live by these values wherever we go or wherever we are in life.
In the final moments of Shlomo's life, it was Maehr, a kind hearted Arab nurse who stood by his side and prayed these sacred words with him. There in that room, those words and their message of the oneness of G-d, creation and indeed humanity itself, came to life through the act of Maehr and his parting gesture to the elderly Chassid who lay before him.
May Shlomo’s memory be a blessing and may his family be comforted and may Maehr be blessed to continue to save lives and be a blessing to the world.