And then one Rosh Hashanah, as he sobbed bitterly under his blanket, he had a thought, which at his age can only be described as a gift from Hashem: “Will all this crying, will all this feeling sorry for yourself help you?” And at the tender age of seven, he answered the question himself: “No.” And lonely weak little Ahre’le decided that from that moment on he was going to stop thinking about his problems and suffering, and instead do all that he could to improve his situation.
“We have free choice,” says Rav Margalit. “We can choose how to respond to our challenges. And calling them ‘challenges,’ rather than ‘problems,’ is also a choice. At that young age I began to understand that nothing good would come from self-pity, no matter how difficult my situation was. I knew that the only thing that could improve my situation – then or in any and all of my challenges throughout the years – is thinking: ‘What is the best, most effective thing I can do now?'”
It is this understanding and outlook which he yearns to share with others who face challenges for it enabled him to survive and, more than that, to succeed. In his books, lectures and private consultations he shares this message with great honesty, deep feeling and tremendous simchat chaim, joy of life!
The path that Ahre’le had chosen wasn’t easy. Physically, it was excruciatingly painful, and mentally and emotionally it was like climbing a mountain, but against all odds he succeeded. His mother was the driving force and shining light in his life. She insisted on bringing him home from the sanatorium, and did the physiotherapy exercises she had learned. Though told to work with him twice a day, she did so every hour, intensely working on reviving and strengthening his small, weak, atrophied body. As they both cried, she told him with the ultimate empathy of a sick child’s mother: “We’re going to get out of the wheelchair!” And she promised him: “We’re going to play tag and you’re going to catch me!” And Ahre’le knew that if his beloved, wise, devoted mother said that, then it was true. And so despite the agonizing pain, they persevered, and with supreme efforts and great siyatta d’Shemaya, they succeeded – beyond anyone’s wildest imagination!
The strong will to live and succeed which helped him to recover from polio continued throughout his life. Though he still has partial paralysis and other health issues, he refuses to see himself as an invalid, and acts with complete disregard of his limitations. As a child with a cast on his leg, he insisted on riding a bicycle! In yeshiva, because his parents’ financial situation was very difficult, he did odd jobs between learning sessions so that he could pay all his expenses, including tuition, transportation and clothing! Sometimes he did them at the expense of his lunch break which meant that he went the whole week without a single hot meal.
Without missing any of his Torah learning, he earned a bookkeeping degree. When his rebbe sent him for therapy for his severe stuttering, the result of a childhood trauma, he went despite the humiliating techniques. After that, though he still stuttered somewhat, he sought jobs that required speech and even the power of persuasion! During the Yom Kippur War, though he had an exemption because of his physical handicaps, he insisted on enlisting and was assigned to enemy territory! Later on he went into the world of business and excelled there, as well. And everything he has done and accomplished was with complete adherence to the letter and spirit of Torah law, never compromising and always sanctifying Hashem’s name. Later in life when he was diagnosed with a terrible illness, he once again followed his chosen directive: “What is the most effective thing I can do now?” And with unflagging efforts, together with great faith and prayers, he survived!