“Am I hypnotizing myself with all of this religion business?” I thought.
But the bleeding didn’t return. No doctor has ever been able to explain it. The cortisone had always taken ten days to turn off the flow, yet here the bleeding stopped without taking any medicine at all!
I was blown away. How could I continue on with my bohemian life of beaches and Hollywood discos after that? The next night, after not having bled the whole day, I prayed a heartfelt bedtime prayer.
“Dear God,” I said. “I don’t know why you have come into my life and done this great miracle for me. But I am certainly grateful, and I would like to make You happy some way in return. Tell me what You want me to do, and I will do it. When I read the Bible, it seems clear that You want the Jewish People to live in the Land of Israel. So if You want me to go there, give me some kind of sign and I will go. Or, if You want me to stay here in Hollywood, I’ll do that too. Maybe I can write Jewish movies, or get a job at some Jewish newspaper. Just give me a sign from Heaven, and I’ll do it.”
The very next morning, when I was leaving my apartment, I noticed that I had mail in my mailbox. It turned out to be a large travel brochure. On the cover was a big picture of the Western Wall. The caption read: “JERUSALEM, MY CHOSEN.” I got goose pimples all over my body.
As if the first miracle wasn’t enough, this one really blew my mind – the very morning after I asked God for a sign whether to go to Israel or not, I find this travel brochure in my mailbox! Never in my life had I ever received any kind of Jewish mail from any kind of Jewish organization. Remember, I was totally assimilated. My head started spinning in circles.
“There is a director greater than Steven Spielberg,” I thought.
Not only had God answered my prayer for a sign, He had obviously known in advance that I would make such a request, because He had to arrange that someone would mail me the brochure, so that it would arrive in my mailbox the very morning after my midnight prayer!
That very day, I purchased a ticket to Israel.
(to be continued)