Bemikdashei Tirahu is an organization that raises public awareness of proper behavior in synagogue services by encouraging congregants to avoid chatting during prayers and Torah readings. A few days ago, the organization received an exceptional letter from a Jewish community in Montreal: "Last week”, write the members of this Montreal community, “we heard an amazing story told by a Chassid of Klausenburg who lives in Union City (USA) and stayed in our area for a family event. On Shabbat evening, this man came to your center for evening services, because it was walking distance from his home. Upon entering, he noticed a large poster sent by your association, which read: "It is reported in the name of  the Chafetz Chaim zatsal: silence is golden during prayers and Torah readings ... and it brings deliverance in many areas."

"The next day, this Jew returned for the Mincha prayer and the third Shabbat meal. On the way to your center, he met one of the congregants, and they started chatting about different things. The host expressed his wondrous astonishment: on the previous evening, from the time they welcomed Shabbat, he was deeply impressed to notice that nobody in the entire synagogue had spoken a word in the middle of services. The prayer was held in an atmosphere of respect, as is fitting for a miniature Temple, where the custom of refraining from chatting and conversing during prayer is well established. That's why he returned on the following afternoon to participate in the Mincha services. But he was even more astonished when he noticed the big poster on the wall: "Silence during prayers brings deliverance". Indeed, he himself experienced a miracle related to this, as well as a complete deliverance thanks to the merit of keeping silence during Tefila. "

The letter then quoted this story word by word, as heard from this Jew, Alexandre Moshe:

"My story began about ten months ago. Towards the end of the month of Tevet, I began to feel severe pain in the kidney area. I thought at first that I had gallstones in the kidneys, hence the pain I was experiencing. I went to the doctor for an examination. When he examined the results, he explained there was no indication of stones in the kidneys, but on the other hand, he detected the presence of blood. He prescribed a series of medical exams,  scans and blood tests. After a few days, the doctors came up with terrible news: they discovered a horrifying disease, a cancer tumor in the area of the liver which had already spread to the surrounding organs. The chances of recovery were almost nil, God forbid, so much so that it is was not even advisable to perform an operation to remove the growth. In short, the situation was catastrophic.

As soon as I learned about this insidious disease in my body, I informed all my friends and acquaintances. I did not try to hide my condition.  I thought that the more people pray on my behalf, the more likely my chances for heavenly mercy and a complete recovery.

The first Shabbat, I failed to go to services at the Beit Hamidrash of my city, because of my great weakness, but on the week that followed, my strength began to return little by little. I spoke to specialists and various experts who gave me hope and appeased me. I tried as much as possible to strengthen my Emunah in Hashem so that He would heal me, and I did not let despair overcome me. As we know, Emunah is one of the determining factors for the survival of patients suffering from this terrible disease.

On the second Shabbat, I was feeling much better and I returned to the Beit Hamidrash. Before the prayer, the Gabbai (beadle of the synagogue) asked me if I would agree if he quoted my name with a request, not involving money for the Beit Hamidrash. I accepted wholeheartedly. He went up to the bimah before the reading the Torah and began to publicly describe my state. He asked all the congregants to commit to avoiding speaking during prayers, from Adon Olam to Adon Olam, and thanks to their merit, the Creator sent me a speedy recovery.

Thank God, my request was accepted by the congregants. On the following Tuesday, the Gabbai paid me a home visit and handed me a sheet with 80 signatures from congregants who took the resolve to avoid speaking during service from beginning to end, including during the sale of the aliyot. This commitment credited me with a cure.”

"On the following Shabbat, total silence reigned throughout services in the Beth Hamidrash. The same followed on the coming days as congregants applied themselves to respect their commitment. During this time, I had chemotherapy treatments and my health began to improve dramatically. Initially,  my blood count amounted to 33,000 as a result of the disease (in a healthy man, this figure rises to 3!). At the end of twelve weeks, I had another examination. The doctors were shocked to observe that this figure had dropped drastically, it had gone down to 3200! The doctor phoned me immediately. In a tone which mingled surprise with emotion, he expressed astonishment. According to the laws of medicine, this extraordinary good news was unheard of. In many cases, the blood count drops by a few thousand for a brief period. But in my case, it dropped by almost 30,000 !! In addition, they found that the tumor had shrunk beyond expectations. The data gave me hope of curing my disease, God willing by continuing the treatments.

I continued the treatments. After twelve weeks I was re-examined. Once again, the stunned doctor phoned to tell me that the blood count had now dropped to less than 300! They had never witnessed such a phenomenon. All of the hospital’s department employees were aware of my case and of the great miracle I had experienced.

I am deeply convinced that this merit of showing respect for communal prayer in the synagogue helped me to this day, helps me in the present, and God willing, will also help me in the future. Thanks to this commitment, my blood count went down, and my health is improving one day at a time. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, I wrote a heartfelt letter to all my friends at the Beit Hamidrash, sincerely thanking them for their efforts and concern and asking them to pursue respecting this noble principle. Thanks to their merit, the Holy One, blessed be He, will answer my prayers and send me a total recovery, and I will be able to emerge from my illness.

When I first visited this synagogue, I was very moved to see this poster on keeping silent during services which brings deliverance. I agreed to tell my story in public so that everyone can see that this is plausible. I experienced it in my flesh, and I found that this Segula literally applied to my case. "