Prayer, modesty, and Baba Sali’s merit converge as a woman miraculously awakens against all odds.
A deeply moving post shared by Itiya Dimantman-Eliya ahead of the hillulah of Baba Sali has stirred hearts across social media, recounting a moment of faith, despair, and unexpected awakening.
Eight months ago, Itiya and her husband Eitan were critically injured in a severe traffic accident at the Yitzhar junction. After undergoing multiple surgeries, Itiya remained unconscious for days. Doctors tried repeatedly to wake her—without success. Family members gathered anxiously, praying and waiting, clinging to hope as time passed.
Prayers were said at her bedside, songs were sung, and special supplications were offered at the Western Wall. “Even today,” she wrote, “watching a video of those prayers makes my whole body tremble.”
During this agonizing period, the family heard of a scarf associated with the Baba Sali, revered in tradition as a vessel of merit and salvation. After considerable effort, the scarf reached the hospital. Her father gently placed it upon her and whispered, “By the merit of the Baba Sali’s modesty.”
Soon after, something changed.
“I remember opening my eyes with great effort,” Itiya recalled, “and seeing my father in front of me, crying and overwhelmed like I had never heard before. Everyone around me was shouting with excitement—and I barely understood what was happening.”
She also shared words from her husband Eitan, who feels a profound connection to the Baba Sali. He cited a teaching attributed to Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, who once asked the Baba Sali how his blessings were so effective. The Baba Sali reportedly answered with simplicity and depth: “My eyes do not see what is forbidden to see, and my mouth does not take in what is forbidden to take in.”
Itiya concluded her testimony with humility and gratitude: “All this my eyes have seen and my ears have heard. And I—just a simple Ashkenazi woman—pray that soon my eyes will see and my ears will hear many more miracles and salvations, by the merit of our master Baba Sali.”
As the hillulah approaches, her story stands as a reminder—of prayer’s power, of modesty’s merit, and of hope that refuses to fade.
