The Power of a Blessing: She Never Knew Who Her Words Would Reach

This column is dedicated to the memory of Livnat Levy, Hy”d, who was murdered at the Nova festival. The story I am about to share took place at an evening held in her memory. It is a story about the extraordinary power of a blessing, and how the loving words of one elderly woman may have influenced a life without either of them ever knowing it.

The City Where I Grew Up

One evening, I came to speak in Kiryat Ono, the city where I grew up. For years, every Tuesday and Shabbat, I went to the Scouts, first as a participant, then as a counselor, and later as a unit leader.

Before I began speaking that evening, I shared with the audience how emotional it was for me to return to the city where I had spent most of my teenage years.

The aunt of Moria Levy, Livnat’s sister, Hy”d, was listening and wondering to herself: How could that be? There had been only three Haredi families in all of Kiryat Ono, and she wasn’t from one of them.

She kept wondering until I told the audience that while I was serving in the army, I was invited to a family’s home one Friday night. For the first time in my life, I experienced a Shabbat table.

That was when she understood.

Immediately after I finished speaking, she approached me.

“Listen,” she said. “You became observant because of my mother!”

“How interesting,” I replied. “Tell me about it, because I don’t remember knowing your mother.”

The Woman Who Blessed the Girls Every Shabbat

This is what she told me.

Her righteous mother would sit in her garden every Shabbat, overlooking the sidewalk that led to the Scouts branch. All of her daughters remembered it. They told me that for decades, every Shabbat, their mother would watch the girls returning from the Scouts and bless them.

She prayed that they would one day build Jewish homes in Israel and become observant. She prayed that they would have good lives, that Hashem would protect them, and that they would merit connecting to Hashem, discovering Judaism, and having genuine free choice.

Each time she saw them, she would say lovingly, “What girls, how beautiful, how wonderful. May Hashem protect them.”

And Hashem protected them, against all odds.

I was deeply moved.

For years, that was exactly the route I had taken home.

Apparently, I had walked past this woman again and again while she sat in her garden and blessed girls like me, never knowing where those blessings might lead.

Never Underestimate the Power of a Word

Look at how much power our blessings, our words, and our thoughts can hold, and all the more so, our actions.

A mother’s blessing and prayer for her daughter, her neighbor, or her friend, especially when offered steadily and consistently, can change worlds.

How much we need kind words, trust, and a generous eye with which to see one another, especially in these days.

And when we are tempted to believe that we are too small to make a difference, we should remember that every action, even a single word, can affect far more than our immediate surroundings.

It is in our hands to choose goodness, truth, and light anew at every moment and, in doing so, to help bring the geulah.

Her Blessings Continued After Her Lifetime

There is another remarkable part to the story.

Moria Levy’s grandmother, whose home was used for the memorial evening organized by Moria and her mother, requested in her will that her home eventually become a beit midrash.

Today, men study Torah there in the mornings, while activities and lectures for women take place in the evenings.

What a remarkable legacy for a woman whose life was devoted to the Jewish people. During her lifetime, she blessed those who passed her home. After her passing, Torah continues to be learned within its walls.

May we also merit to cling to goodness, truth, light, and holiness in our thoughts, speech, and actions, steadily and consistently, and in this way help bring the geulah, with the help of Hashem.