This Shabbos we honor Yud Shevat, the yahrzeit of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, and the ascension to Chabad leadership of his son-in-law. For 75 years, since the passing of his saintly father-in-law, the Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson influenced thousands, guiding them in all spiritual and material matters in all corners of the world. The Avner Institute presents three amazing encounters highlighting the power of the Rebbe’s blessings, which effected unimaginable outcomes and displayed the Rebbe’s uncanny prophecies.
In loving memory of Hadassah Lebovic A”h
“Nu, have the Georgians arrived?”
Rabbi Yaakov Michaelashvili of Lud relates:
It was 5727 (1967), and the communists ruled with an iron hand over millions of citizens. The persecution of Jews intensified, and it became even more difficult to leave the country. All requests for emigration were refused, and there was absolutely no chance that we would be able to leave Georgia.
On Simchas Torah of that year, the old Chassid, Rabbi Shmuel Levitin, a”h, cried to the Rebbe, asking for his blessing that all the rabbis of Georgia be able to participate in the farbrengen that year.
Indeed, that year, the Georgian rabbis were allowed to leave. They arrived in Crown Heights in Elul. At the Rosh Hashana 5728 Farbrengen, we – the new immigrants – sat facing the Rebbe and joined in the singing when suddenly the Rebbe turned to Rabbi Levitin and with a broad smile asked, “Nu, Reb Shmuel, have the Georgians arrived?”
“Very soon, it will all work out”
Professor Herman Branover relates:
I grew up in Riga, where I slowly got involved in Yiddishkeit and Chassidus. Before presenting a request to leave Russia, I decided to contact the Lubavitcher Rebbe and ask for his blessing. A friend warned me that a conversation like that was likely to earn me years under lock and key in Siberian labor camps. But I insisted on calling the Rebbe, feeling an inexplicable urgency.
I went to the post office and dialed the Rebbe’s office directly. After identifying myself, I asked to speak to the Rebbe, when suddenly I heard the Rebbe’s voice on the line (in Yiddish) saying, “Very soon, it will all work out.”
I was ecstatic. I had spoken to the Rebbe himself! So, I went to the emigration office and after presenting my request I was told, in no uncertain terms, that due to my vast scientific knowledge I wouldn’t be able to leave the Soviet Union for at least four years, possibly ten!
I didn’t despair. I went home, with stubborn faith.
The miracle happened a lot sooner than I thought it would.
Shortly thereafter, I heard knocks at my door. Somebody from the emigration office invited me to come to their office, where I was informed that my request to emigrate had been approved!
I know this was only in the merit of the Rebbe’s blessing.
A Change of Heart
Rabbi Sholom Kramer relates:
The brothers Rabbis Shmuel and Sholom Gurevitz, Chabad emissaries in Lyon, France, made a dinner for the local Torah and benevolent institutions they had established. Considering a gimmick they could use that would set their dinner apart, they decided to show video clips of dinner participants and the donors appearing before the Rebbe for “dollars.”
The idea was original and uplifting. None of the guests or their families could remain indifferent at the sight of themselves or their fathers standing before the Rebbe.
When the portion of the video showing Mr. Alain Saban, one of the biggest donors, appeared, standing before the Rebbe, who blessed him with “l’hakamas beis ha’seifer” (establishing the school), Mr. Saban was particularly moved. He asked to be allowed to go up to the podium and tell of his experiences with the Rebbe.
This is his story:
Hotel and School
We are a happy family, myself and my wife and daughter. We had whatever we wanted. But then one day my wife fell ill. I traveled to the Rebbe, and during “dollars” I asked for a blessing for my wife. The Rebbe gave me a dollar and then another dollar, saying, “For the school you will establish.”
How did the Rebbe know about that? The Friday before, my friend Rabbi Sholom Gurevitz told the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Leibel Groner, that I was building a giant hotel in Lyon which would also serve as a school for hotel management. It was 5748, which the Rebbe had declared as Shnas HaBinyan, Year of Construction, and in the spirit of that special year I decided to build a huge building.
Afterwards, the secretary told us that the Rebbe appeared happy at the news. The Rebbe then gave me a blessing for the new hotel, as well as the school. I was about to leave when the Rebbe said, “When you open the hotel, make sure to place mezuzas on every doorway.”
With this blessing, I immediately made preparations for the hotel management school together with the magnificent hotel. It was no small job, and it took years of work before it was completed.
For the opening ceremony, I invited all the distinguished personalities of Nice, the city where the hotel had been built. The tables were laden with delicacies, and everyone waited in anticipation for the official opening. I too was waiting patiently, for my two special guests before the ceremony would begin.
At last, the two people came in. They were Chassidim with beards wearing the black hats and long cloaks. Everybody looked at them in surprise, trying to figure out how they belonged at this event. They were further mystified to see me greet the two warmly and announce, “The guests arrived and now we can begin.”
I explained to them, “I didn’t open my school and hotel without the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s blessing. He told me to put mezuzas on every room, and I was waiting for his representatives here in France. I asked them to come to the grand opening and to place the mezuzas on the main entranceways.” And that’s how the hotel opened with mezuzas on every doorpost.
Financial Trouble
Years went by. The hotel was deep in debt, and it had to declare bankruptcy. The losses were in the millions, much of which had not belonged to me, but were funds that had been borrowed from various banks and businessmen. At that time, I knew that after the bankruptcy they would never see their money again, and that hurt me more than anything else. I am an upstanding person, not a cheat.
Government authorities suspected that the business had gone bankrupt after fraud had been committed. They appointed a special auditor to ascertain whether the business had legitimately failed due to human error and bad luck or because of embezzlement.
This assessment was most unpleasant. I knew I hadn’t stolen or even taken an extra penny. Nevertheless, I was extremely nervous, for who knew whether the auditor or the court would be convinced of my integrity?
As time passed, my fears proved justified. I was called to various meetings at the auditor’s office and asked to answer questions hinting at the direction the auditor was leading – which was bad for me. The auditor produced a report saying that based on his findings, I had embezzled money.
Things got really unpleasant, to say the least. I had to prove that I hadn’t embezzled any money. My family united with me and did what they could to help. They all prayed for my health and for a successful outcome.
Things got even worse. My house was confiscated and sold. My parents quickly bought it back so that I wouldn’t enter a bottomless depression, as the doctors warned would happen.
Big Decision
The day of the auditor’s decision had arrived. His final decision was almost certain. That day, I sat in my office and waited for him to come.
When he entered, I saw him stand before the mezuza in the doorway. He gazed at it for a while and then entered. My office contained many pictures of myself and various senior officials in the French government, including the president of France. There were also certificates of appreciation and professional certificates attesting to my fine reputation in the hotel business. In the center, among all the pictures and certificates, was a huge picture of me receiving a dollar from the Rebbe.
The auditor stared at this picture for some time. Only then did he sit down in the chair facing me and begin detailing his summation. I sat and trembled, feeling certain that I would soon be officially informed that I had lost my enormous investment.
But instead of criticizing my handling of the business, the auditor began to speak in my defense. He said, “A number of odd circumstances and mistakes made by an inexperienced hotel owner had caused problems which led to a further chain of mishaps.” Furthermore, in a tedious presentation he explained his findings and concluded that there was still a chance to save the business. He would request the government to lend me a huge sum of money to start the ball rolling again.
I was flabbergasted, as were my family and friends. I could only thank G-d for the unexpected miracle He had done for me. I had only one question: What made the auditor change his mind? I just had to know, so I asked him.
The auditor looked at me and replied, “This morning, before coming here to give you my decision, I walked through the different floors of the hotel and noticed something interesting. I saw a mezuza on every door.
“You see, I am Jewish. Before the war, my wife and I lived in Austria, and by the skin of our teeth we managed to flee the anti-Semitism and the tragedy to follow. We somehow made it through the war and then arrived in France. We decided to change our way of life so that nobody would know we were Jewish. We hid our identity as much as we could.
“When I saw the mezuzas, I knew what they were. I remembered them well, though I thought a mezuza is to be put on the front door and maybe in another important room or two, and that’s it. Here I was seeing a mezuza on every single door on hundreds of rooms in this hotel, knowing full well that this wasn’t your personal home! I figured that a person so particular about mezuzas couldn’t possibly be a fraud and a thief.
“I came to the main office where you sit and do business. I noticed that every doorway in the office has a mezuza. I also saw a picture of a rabbi. I could see that he is a holy man. And I knew only one thing – I had to return to my Jewish roots.”
Two Miracles
“From that point on, the path to complete teshuva was short,” concluded Mr. Saban emotionally. “I merited two miracles. First, the Rebbe saw the future, foreseeing what would happen and advising me to place a mezuza on every door of my hotel. Second, the Rebbe saved a Jewish couple from assimilation and brought them back to Judaism.
“Another miracle happened, in that since then I have established a chain of hotels all over Europe—all because of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of course!”
To receive to your inbox email: [email protected]
