Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
A young couple waiting anxiously for the birth of their first child had suddenly discovered that the fetus was suffering from a serious heart condition. And if that wasn’t enough, they quickly learned that there were other problems that simply made the situation worse. There wasn’t much time before the birth, and the doctors were urging them to undergo serious and complex examinations, until the Rebbe decided otherwise…
In the living room of the Suissa family from Moshav Amnon, a settlement in northern Eretz Yisroel, a picture of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach hangs prominently on the wall. “There’s a simple inscription written under the picture that I deeply identify with,” the head of the family, R’ Shimon, told us. ‘The people want Moshiach – because there’s only one true leader.’ Every time I learn or just rest in the living room, the Rebbe’s picture stands before me, alive and vibrant. My children don’t leave the house without the Rebbe’s picture in their wallet. Another one hangs in the carriage of my eldest grandson, born to my son Yitzchak, as a source of spiritual protection and salvation.”
When R’ Shimon tells his story, which took place quite recently, one can hear the emotion in his voice. This wasn’t exactly the first supernatural experience in his life. A few years ago, he had experienced another miracle through which he discovered the Rebbe and the segula of writing to the Rebbe in Igros Kodesh, but he wouldn’t give us any details about it. “It’s too personal,” he told us, but he’s already related the story about his grandson dozens of times to many people. “I give over a weekly Torah class in the local shul, and all this is in the merit of the Rebbe. When my daughter-in-law told me about the medical problem the doctors had discovered with their son even before he was born, I immediately knew to whom to turn – the one whose brachos never go unfulfilled. First, however, we had to make a proper vessel to hold the bracha.”
A ROUTINE EXAMINATION GONE AWRY
“When my son and daughter-in-law told my wife and I that they were expecting their first child, and everything appeared to be normal, it was a day of great joy and happiness for us. We obviously were most anxious to hold our first grandson in our arms, but then the problems began. During a routine examination late in the pregnancy, the examining doctor informed my daughter-in-law about a certain problem he had found. While the condition was not a common one, it wasn’t acute either. The doctors themselves didn’t seemed alarmed over their discovery, and they reassured the young couple that they had come across similar cases in the past, where despite the initial findings the child was born totally normal without any health problems.
“However, in order to avoid any further risks, my daughter-in-law went to check the fetus’ weight and overall development to make certain that everything was in proper order. The results proved most satisfactory. I saw this as a clear case of Divine Providence, as I had just begun that week to give over a Torah class based on the parable which compares the experience of exile to that of a woman about to give birth. We are trapped among the seventy nations of the world, and in order to break their spiritual impurities, we have to hear seventy voices of holiness similar to a woman crying out from the pain prior to birth.
“A few hours after I spoke about this in synagogue, my daughter-in-law and my son told me about everything that had transpired. I suggested that they make a good resolution to recite Chapter 20 of T’hillim each day. My daughter-in-law immediately agreed to my request, and she has said this chapter daily ever since.
“They were about to go in for another examination, this time with a cardiologist. Nothing could have prepared them for the test results that would bring all of us into a state of deep melancholy. The doctors determined that the baby had a gap in his heart, a ‘congenital birth defect’ in medical terms. The senior physician added that there was a hole in one of the ventricles of the heart. The latter problem would not be so serious on its own, were it not for the first diagnosis. The doctor pointed out that there had been numerous instances of children born with this defect, and they immediately underwent heart surgery after the birth to repair the problem. However, in this case, the situation was a bit more complex.
“My son and daughter-in-law left the doctors’ offices filled with anguish and deep concern. This first pregnancy had progressed with a feeling of excitement, yet now they were facing a very complicated problem. I constantly tried to give them encouragement, but the doctors’ pessimistic declarations carried far more weight. The cardiologist suggested that they go for a genetic examination.
“My daughter-in-law met with a geneticist, who suggested that she undergo further tests, which simply increased her sense of fear. Nevertheless, the doctor urged her to do the exam as soon as possible, since she was already rather late into her pregnancy.
“After her appointment, my daughter-in-law told me about the difficult situation and her internal struggles over what she should do now. It was only six weeks before her scheduled due date, and I understood her fears and emotions. ‘This is your decision,’ I told her, ‘but I am certain that you will make a proper vessel for a bracha if you agree to make some good resolutions.’
“The doctors had already set a date for an examination in two weeks, but neither my son nor my daughter-in-law was at peace with the idea. Feeling very apprehensive, they went together to the Western Wall to daven. The tension in our homes was overwhelming.
“Then suddenly, it hit me. What about the Lubavitcher Rebbe? When I had personally experienced a problem in the past, I wrote to the Rebbe through the Igros Kodesh. I made several good resolutions, including giving over a shiur on the yishuv, and everything had worked out just fine. What was I waiting for? Without a moment’s hesitation, I called Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Levkivker from Tzfas. I told him the whole story and then asked if he could write a letter to the Rebbe on our behalf.
“I had known Rabbi Levkivker for several years, ever since I had a store in Chatzor HaGlilit, where yeshiva bachurim would come from Tzfas each Friday to put t’fillin on local Jewish men and tell them some words of Torah and Chassidus. While I needed no help with putting on t’fillin, I was always happy to hear a weekly D’var Torah from the Rebbe. On one such occasion, I felt comfortable enough with these young men to tell them about the complicated problem I was struggling with at the time, and they immediately suggested that I write to the Rebbe. Rabbi Levkivker was the one who got back to me with the Rebbe’s answer. In his reply (see Vol. 21, pg. 112), the Rebbe requested that I should be involved in avoda with myself and with others. Rabbi Levkivker explained that the Rebbe wanted me to start giving over Torah classes to others and also to make time to study Torah privately. Thus, I accepted this task as a good resolution, and to this day, I stringently give over a shiur and a drasha in shul each day between Mincha and Maariv. As a result, the problem disappeared as if it had never been there.
“Now I was reminded of that incident, and I quickly contacted Rabbi Levkivker again to make use of his services. My request was for our first grandchild to be born healthy and strong, and I then asked whether my daughter-in-law should do this potentially dangerous examination. He heard all the details, took down their names, and promised to get back to me as soon as possible. A short while later, the telephone rang; Rabbi Levkivker was on the line. He said that he wrote to the Rebbe for us, and when he opened the volume of Igros Kodesh, one page contained a ‘Mazel tov’ from the Rebbe for the birth of a new baby. On the second page, the Rebbe wrote, ‘When your wellsprings spread forth, the entire doubt will be removed.’ In the conversation that followed, Rabbi Levkivker recommended that my son should begin taking part in activities spreading the teachings of Chassidus. He suggested that he get in touch with the Chabad center nearest to his home, take some of the Chabad brochures on the weekly Torah portion, and give them out to at least ten people living on his settlement. Rabbi Levkivker calmed us when he said that if my son would do this, there will be no need whatsoever for the examination, because the Rebbe said that all doubt will be removed and everything will turn out fine.
“I immediately called my son and told him about the answer. He accepted it with complete faith and got in touch that same day with the nearest Chabad center to his place of residence – the Chabad House in Ashdod. From that moment on, he always made certain to distribute the weekly parsha sheets to at least ten people, religious and secular alike. He continues the distribution to this day.
“Instilled with faith and trust in the Rebbe’s bracha that everything will be all right, my son and his wife did not agree to the examination, despite the doctors’ warnings.
“During Chol HaMoed Sukkos, at the start of her ninth month, my daughter-in-law went into labor and she was quickly brought to the hospital. She entered the delivery room that night, and at six o’clock the following morning, I called my wife with the good news of the birth of our first grandchild. Due to the concern raised throughout the pregnancy, the baby was immediately brought in for a series of tests, and the results showed that all his limbs were functioning normally.
“When the child and his mother were released from the hospital, the doctor asked that they come back for a follow-up examination in three months to check the previously discovered defects in the baby’s heart. ‘You can make the bris at the proper time,’ he confidently assured them. The bris mila took place on my son’s moshav as scheduled.
“Three months later, they went to the doctor with a feeling of nagging concern in their hearts. After the baby went through a comprehensive series of tests, the doctor called the parents into his office and asked them with a tinge of humor, ‘Was there ever a problem here? The x-rays show that everything’s normal.’ The doctor’s confirmation put an end to a difficult trial for my son and daughter-in-law that had persisted over the last few months. Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“I told this story during the seudas hodaa that we made in our home a few days after this, in which many of the moshav residents participated. They all heard about the broad shoulders of the Rebbe, in whose merit my daughter-in-law didn’t go through the examination. Furthermore, in the merit of his miracle, everything worked out in the best possible way. Today, my first-born grandson, Idan, is healthy and strong, developing as all normal children do.”
MIRACLES NOW JUST AS BEFORE
R’ Shimon finishes his story as his voice cracks with emotion. A lengthy and noticeable silence hung over the phone. “All this could easily have turned out the other way,” he suddenly said. “We are eternally grateful to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who was a true advocate of justice for our grandson. It should come as no wonder that a picture of the Rebbe hangs in the baby’s carriage, accompanying him everywhere he goes.”
In his place of work at the “Pri HaGalil” canned food factory in Chatzor HaGlilit, as on his moshav, there’s no one who hasn’t heard this story. R’ Shimon sees it as a shlichus to publicize the miracle. “During the days when the Jews were leaving Egypt, and in these times as well, we see the fulfillment of miracles and wonders, deliverance and consolation,” he concludes.