Q: I read in a biography of the Chatam Sofer that he and his wife had to wait some time before they had a child. He could have asked one of his teachers, Rabbi Natan Adler, a great tzaddik and Kabbalist, to pray for him but he was afraid that such prayers, while efficacious, could harm his wife if she was not naturally able to give birth.
I have heard this idea before that sometimes when one asks the tzaddik for a blessing for a child, while the blessing may be eventually fulfilled it sometimes is in a way that wasn't how the parents would have wanted. I heard a story of a couple who asked a tzaddik for a blessing for a child and he responded, “I see that I can effect this for you but perhaps it would be better I if I wouldn't.”
I was wondering what input you may have on this.
A: If the tzaddik has ruach hakodesh (Divine inspiration) he may try to avoid giving a blessing. If this is the case, it is possible that there may be a reason for concern. However, if a Rabbi gives a blessing with temimut (simple sincerity) and not through ruach hakodesh, there is no reason for concern.
