By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Yosef Leviov, Director of Chabad of Netanya-Merkaz on Samilenski street in Netanya, Israel, shared the following:
I was a young man with two children in 5749 and in honor of the Shavuos holiday, I traveled to the Rebbe in New York.
On Rosh Chodesh Sivan, I stood in line to receive a dollar from the Rebbe for a blessing before returning to Israel.
The Rebbe gave me a few dollars and I immediately wrote on them, “received from the holy hands of the Rebbe Shlita Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5749.”
One of the dollar bills I put in a frame that hung in our home. The other one I put in my wallet and was with me at all times.
In 5766, we moved into our new house in Shikun Chabad in Netanya. The building was still under construction and everything was open, without electricity, gas and water.
It was the 5th of Av and I went to Tzfas for the yartzeit of the Arizal. I returned before dawn and went to sleep. When I woke up, I saw that my pants were stolen along with my wallet.
I didn’t really care about the money in the wallet (and there wasn’t much of it in there anyway), but the dollar of the Rebbe…
At least the framed dollar in the dining room was left.
17 years later, in 5772, my son Ariel went to learn in the Kevutza at the Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.
It was around Pesach time when he took his clothes to a local laundromat. He had a $20 bill and asked the owner to give him change.
She gave him a $10 bill, a $5 and another 5 one-dollar bills. He used 4 of the single dollars for the machines.
When he returned to the Yeshiva dormitory at 1414 President Street, he took out the single dollar bill to buy a drink in the soda machine.
As he was about to put it in, he noticed handwritten words in Hebrew on the dollar. On it was written that it was a dollar from the Rebbe which was received on Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5748.
What is more, he recognized the handwriting…
It was indeed my handwriting and the dollar is now framed in our dining room together with the other one we received.
It was unbelievable. The dollar that was stolen from me has been returned to me after 17 years of being in the world.
Amazing hashgocha! You were meant to have that dollar now to remind you of when the rebbe gave you the dollars.
May it bring you renewed Brochos.
🙂