There’s a story from the Chafetz Chaim. A lady came from the hospital and said, “Please give word to the Chafetz Chaim that I’m coming to see him for a Beracha (blessing).” I said, “What happened?” So the family said, “What happened?” She said that she had a child, and the doctors said they couldn’t do anything about him. His heart was basically shot and had failed, and any day now he was going to pass on. She said, “Tell the Chafetz Chaim that I’m on my way. I need a Beracha; I need to see him.” So they went to the Chafetz Chaim and told him. The Chafetz Chaim said, “I don’t know what you want me to do.” She said, “What do you mean? You’re the Chafetz Chaim.” He said, “Yes, but I’m already in my 90s.” At the time, he was in his 90s, which was very old. It was known that if you came to the Chafetz Chaim with any issue, he would literally fast for you. He would fast. “Oh, you have this problem? No problem.” That day, the next day, he’d be fasting for you; he’d do things for you. He said, “What do you want me to do? I’m over 90. What do you want me to do now?” She said, “All right, please, just me, just me.” Fine. She came and brought the baby.
The Chafetz Chaim said, “What can I do for you?” She said, “I want a Beracha.” She said, “You want a Beracha from me?” He said, “I’m not the source of Beracha. Shomer Shabbat, ki hi Mekor HaBeracha. You keep Shabbat. Shomer Shabbat, ki hi Mekor HaBeracha. That’s the source of Beracha.” The Chafetz Chaim told her, “I know you keep Shabbat.” There’s a Rambam, by the way, you should know. The Rambam says that besides just Shemirat Shabbat (keeping Shabbat), there’s something called Kavod Shabbat (honoring Shabbat). One of the things involved in Kavod Shabbat is getting ready on time before Shabbat, not at the last second. For example, if a guy is getting married, is he going to be late for his wedding? He’s not going to be late. Is he going to be on time for his wedding? Let’s put it like that. Are you going to be on time? Your wedding starts at 7. Are you going to be on time for your wedding, or are you there at 5 o’clock waiting for pictures and everything like that? What are you doing? You’re there since when? 5 o’clock. You’re waiting in the wedding hall. You’re there before everything. She says, “Shabbat, you have to know: you have to do more than just be Shomer Shabbat. You have to respect it. One of the ways to respect it is being ready, not just on time, but before on time, in order to greet it correctly.” That’s the quote by the Rambam. The Rambam held that you have to be ready before—not just at the second, but before.
She says, look, what I can tell you to do is be so much ready, by midday, Chatzot Hayom (midday), be completely, completely ready. Meaning what? Meaning your Shabbat table set. Of course. You're not just waiting close to Shabbat, but basically you're ready for Shabbat. You're waiting for Shabbat. She said, “Rabbi, I take it upon myself.” Him, and says, “You and your husband?” She said, “Yeah, my husband and I will do it.” The story goes that she went home and told her husband, “This is what we have to do.” Week by week by week by week, after about a month, two months, the boy was still living. She went back to her husband and said, “Listen, you said within the month. Look, he’s living.” He said, “Let me check the heart.” He checked the heart, and the doctor said, “What did you do after you left?” He said, “You tell me what’s wrong with the heart now.” The doctor said, “I want to tell you something. When you left here, I can guarantee you—what did you do?” He said, “I went to the Rabbi, Chafetz Chaim.” So he said, “Let me tell you something. This heart was dysfunctional. This heart was impossible. This heart was done. You—your son—got not the same heart. He got a whole new heart.” Hashem gave that Beracha from the Shemirat Shabbat of the kavod (honor). We’re not talking about keeping Shabbat. You keep Shabbat. But we’re talking about honoring Shabbat. What’s one of the ways of honoring Shabbat? Being ready in advance, waiting for Shabbat. In that situation, you have a great, great Zechut (merit).
By the way, there are many stories like that. The people who were ready before had a great Zechut. There’s a very famous story with the Ridbaz. Ridbaz wrote a perush (commentary) on the Yerushalmi. Look how great he was. He wrote a perush on the Yerushalmi. He had a life-and-death experience where he went up to Shamayim (heaven), and they said, “That’s it. He’s done.” He said, “Please give me his Zechut. I have to finish the perush on the Yerushalmi.” They said, “Don’t worry, we have somebody else to finish.” He said, “Please, I need to do this. I need to do that.” Then he said the following: “If I will get ready, waiting for Shabbat by midday.” Of course, he was learning. By midday, he was ready. He didn’t have to do anything. He was ready midday. And he said, “This Zechut will give you more life.”
You have to know, it’s not just keeping Shabbat. It’s respecting it, giving the right kavod for it. You know? When you do that, you’ll see much more Beracha in your life. Have a good day.