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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
A Righteous Shoemaker in Jerusalem

by M. Samsonowitz

Unconventional Treatments

I braced myself for what I knew would be the look of disbelief, the suspicious eyes, and the pursed lips. A friend had informed me a day ago that an old, painful medical condition of hers had recurred, and she was suffering agonizing pain and almost total immobility. Her doctor had explained to her years before that she suffered from a condition in which several bones in one of her toes had fused together and when that toe would slip and crack, she needed months of rest, staying off of her foot, as well as injections and medicine to stabilize the painful disorder. She was trying to reconcile herself to another months-long haul until she would once again regain her mobility. Without delay, I told her, "You need Shabtai!"

Refusing to listen to another word, I whisked her away to the dust-blanketed, 1920's-vintage shoe store located at 2 Meah Shearim Street, right next to Eisenbach's taxi stand. Passing the front window which featured shoes that seemed as if they could have fit in a museum exhibit for medieval artifacts, we entered the store and were acknowledged by Shabtai. He was a short Sephardi shoemaker whose patented, unique orthopedic shoes were famous all over Jerusalem for the yeshuos they wrought. I was sure they could help my friend -- who incidentally was a nurse married to a doctor.

He had unconventional methods of diagnosis and cure that immediately filled the uninitiated with suspicions that he was a charlatan, a crackpot, a crook -- or all three. First he looked over his client's hands and from this diagnosed what his/her health problems were. Then he told the client to stand up, and proceeded to jab him in select spots from head to toe, each place guaranteed to elicit a ringing yelp from his victim, whose suspicions were growing by the second.

The next stage was outfitting the client in one of his specially designed orthopedic shoes. These bulky monsters had two inch heels, were laced up past the ankle, and had a thick sole underlaid with numerous bumpy arches. Today it is fashionable to wear high-laced mountain shoes, but in previous decades it took bravery to step foot in public with them.

After the client walked to and fro a few times, Shabtai had him take off the shoes so he could study the soles to see if the shoes were balancing the person properly. If it wasn't to his satisfaction, Shabtai inserted arches under the insole in places that only he could specify, and he set the client off on another walk.

After the client was properly fitted, Shabtai did one last test: he jabbed you again in all the places he jabbed you before, this time triumphantly showing you that they hurt less or not at all -- proof that his shoes had begun to effect the cure.

At this point, first-time clients would whisper in downright disbelief to their companions, "This guy must be a professional con artist." Or, "He just knows all the pressure points in the body." Or "Is this guy for real?"

Opinion & Comment
Shabbos Unto Hashem

by Yated Staff

In the year of shmittah, all toilers of the earth go on a Sabbatical, a period designed to strengthen their faith and reliance in Hashem.

There seems to be a new spirit in the world, an atmosphere not congenial to bnei Torah, in which a new type seems to be emerging, or a denigration of the true representation. In one swoop, the tillers of the land are transformed into its heroes, gibborei koach, a title reserved for the angels alone, by virtue of their standing idly by while their formerly-tended fields produce thorns and briars.

Why is this particular segment of the population subject to this awesome test? Why are not the businessmen, the entrepreneurs, not required to stand a similar trial?

In general, tests sent a person's way are geared to their spiritual condition; they are in accordance to their ability to withstand it, and correspond to Heaven's overall assessment of the factors involved, which include the person's place and mission on this world. Shmittah is different: it affects an entire segment of professionals across the board, regardless of their personal spiritual stature and situation.

Truth to tell, this particular test is the strong point of farmers, who live with this challenge season in and season out. And this test, therefore, is presented davka to those who can pass it, whose chances are better than those engaged in different areas of seeking their livelihood.

Chazal define the occupation of agronomy as "emunah." The verse, "Vehoyo emunas itecho chossen yeshuos -- And He shall be the stability of your times, a store of salvation," they say, refers to the various orders of the Oral Law, with the first order of the Mishna, Zeroim, corresponding to the word emunah, since one who is occupied in sowing -- burying good seed in the ground -- must necessarily have faith that Hashem will cause food to grow from it.

One cannot sow unless one has faith. Even farmers who know nothing of Judaism must necessarily, unconsciously, be people of trust, for how can they know for sure that sufficient rain will fall, that it will fall at the right time and place and so on? Even in the age of technology, one cannot rely on weather forecasts, especially long range predictions and seasonal prognoses. These are very often subject to unforeseen changes and are often most disappointing. This is because the key of rain was not transmitted to an angel or to natural law, or to meteorological cycles, but remains in the hands of Hashem.