By Dovid Zaklikowski for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
In honor of his birthday, artist Baruch Nachshon, his wife, and their one-year-old son entered a private audience with the Rebbe.
At one point, the Rebbe called the child to him and handed him a dollar coin, but the boy refused to accept it.
The mahogany-paneled walls of the Rebbe’s office were hardly visible, covered by the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that held the Rebbe’s library. Unable to comprehend what was transpiring in the room, the boy wandered over to one of the shelves and began playing with the holy books.
His parents were embarrassed and tried to call him back, but the Rebbe only smiled.
“It is a good indication that the child chooses holy books over money,” the Rebbe lovingly said.
Find Hasidic Archives latest books on HasidicArchives.com Story Bites: Short Stories to Savor and Dear Rebbe: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson corresponds with a singer, a writer, a sculptor & a Holocaust survivor, also available on Amazon Prime.
Nice story with a lesson learned.
We were on line as a family for dollars before an overseas trip for our simcha, and the Rebbe offered my toddler a dollar. He said NO & I wanted to curl up and disappear. The Rebbe laughed and asked, “Why no?”
Today, that toddler has his own family, he’s a chasid and businessman who supports Chabad institutions worldwide. And yes, he still has his dollar from the Rebbe.