DOUBLE BLESSING

A Siddur party at the Ohr Menachem girls’ school in Tzfas is a very special and moving event. The staff of the school puts in much time and effort to make the celebration one that the first graders, most of whom are not from Lubavitcher homes, won’t soon forget. Every year, the staff invites someone to tell a miracle story of the Rebbe and this past year it was Mrs. Yaffa Butbul, from Kiryat Shmoneh. She is not Lubavitch, yet she wanted to share the story of the birth of her daughter who was in the first grade, and of her son. Both of them were born with the Rebbe’s bracha after many years of marriage.

The large crowd of mothers and girls was astounded by her story. “It was not only the audience that was moved,” she said in an interview the next day. “That was the first time I was telling the story to such a large crowd. As soon as my son was born, the medical team at Ziv hospital wanted to call down a TV crew to hear the miracle, but I didn’t let them. However, when I was asked to speak at the party, I felt that there was no better time to thank the Rebbe for this big miracle. It is the reason that my daughter makes the trip every day from Kiryat Shmoneh to the Chabad school in Tzfas.”

A LETTER TO THE REBBE

“For many years, my husband, Meir Moshe, and I looked forward to and prayed for a child. We were married in 5751 and soon realized that having children wouldn’t go easily for us. We underwent a series of unbearably lengthy treatments, but that did not help. We suffered greatly. With the early treatments we harbored great hope but were disappointed many times. After more and more treatments over time, our expectations were lowered. Who didn’t we visit? We went to doctors and rabbis all over the country.

“There was no segula that we didn’t try. At a certain point, we began to fear that we might never have children.

“In 5762, my husband heard of a new segula – Chai Rotel. He went to the gravesite of the Tanna Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Miron on Lag B’Omer in order to give out wine to the visitors. He made a promise that if we would have a son, he would name him Shimon.

“My husband had started getting interested in Chabad some time before that. He met wonderful people and began learning a bit of Chassidus. He loved it. He was also told about the possibility of writing to the Rebbe even today, through the Igros Kodesh.

“So in Miron, when he saw the Chabad s’farim stand, he wanted to buy some volumes of Igros Kodesh. The Lubavitchers told him that they had only one volume left, Volume 18. He bought it and felt this was a sign from heaven since he had just finished the segula of 18 Rotel and it was the 18^th of Iyar. The pilgrimage to Rashbi fortified my husband and me as we faced the last treatment.

“We were told how to write to the Rebbe, made a good hachlata, and before heading for the hospital we wrote a letter to the Rebbe and asked for his bracha. We opened to page 377 where it said:

It is surprising that she keeps repeating her request each time when I wrote her that she should be confident in the Healer of all flesh who does wonders. As the verse says, “He does everything properly in the right time” – noting two things, in the right time and that it is done properly.

May the medical treatment be in the right time and successful and may she relate good news in a good state of mind in both personal and general matters.

“We pinched ourselves to make sure this was real. The Rebbe had written explicitly that the treatment would be in the right time and that we would have good news. We were very excited. I went to the hospital with the feeling that this time, it would be all right.

“I did one of the medical treatments close to home, at Elisha Hospital in Haifa, under the supervision of Dr. Levitt, an expert in the field. I’ll never forget my first meeting with him. He asked how many years we were married without children and how many treatments we had tried. I told him that we wanted to try for the umpteenth time and he was taken aback. ‘You haven’t given up?!’

“I was prepared. In addition to the mountain of medical documents, I had the Rebbe’s clear and encouraging answer. Dr. Erlich carried out the actual treatment. He was the good shliach through whom the miracle happened. It was in the month of Elul, the month of t’shuva.

“I got the phone call from the hospital a day after Rosh HaShana. I’ll never forget that conversation with the secretary. ‘Mrs. Yaffa Butbul. Your blood test shows that you are pregnant.’ I began to cry. It took a long time for the news to register.

“The days that followed were full of anxiety and consultations. In the months that followed, I spoke a lot to Dr. Shussheim of the Efrat organization. He advised me about which tests I should do and which weren’t necessary. The Rebbe’s answer accompanied me throughout the nine months and it was clear to me that come what may, I would have good news to tell the Rebbe. I felt even stronger about this when the doctor told me the estimated due date. I checked the calendar and saw it was 18 Iyar, Lag B’Omer! I was flabbergasted. What began with Rashbi’s hilula would end on that date. We considered this yet another sign among a series of signs.

“I went to the hospital on 9 Iyar 5763 and due to early developments and not wanting to take any chances, I agreed to a C-section and my son was born that day, but the bris was Erev Lag B’Omer. I’ll never forget how many doctors came to my room to view the miracle.

“News about the birth of my son spread quickly and the entire Kiryat Shmoneh rejoiced. My husband and I cried and laughed, overwhelmed with joy. Hundreds of people attended the bris. Nobody needed an invitation; they all came spontaneously to wish us a heartfelt mazal tov. As my husband promised, we named the baby for the Tanna and added the name Noam.”

THE REBBE WROTE: MAZAL TOV ON THE BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER

“I asked for a bracha for another child one year later. One was not enough now that we knew that there was someone we could turn to, a leader whose brachos were fulfilled. We made a good hachlata, put coins in the pushka, and put our letter into the volume of Igros Kodesh. We opened to a letter on page 238 which ended with:

With blessings for good news and blessings of mazal tov on the birth of a daughter – I just heard the news about this; may you raise her and all your children to Torah, chuppa and good deeds.

“We read the letter and although we were used to clear answers from the Rebbe, we just couldn’t get over this one. Not only did the Rebbe wish Mazal Tov and good news but he had informed us that it would be a girl.

“I went back to Elisha hospital and hoped that my doctor would be Dr. Yochanan Erlich who had treated me the last time. Before I had finished praying that it would be him, he walked into the room and asked how I was. I told him about my son and he was happy to hear about it.

“I returned home with high hopes and within weeks received the news that I was pregnant. Throughout the nine months I did various tests. I knew though, that the Rebbe did not make mistakes and that he had written about a daughter and that it would be a girl. I was taken aback when the doctor told me the estimated due date was Rosh Chodesh Adar, the date on the Rebbe’s letter.

“I can’t say I was surprised when I was told I had given birth to a girl. We named her Yael and she brings us so much joy. When she became old enough, we looked for a good school for her. One day, we heard about the Chabad school in Tzfas. The traveling back and forth from Kiryat Shmoneh isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. The school does a great job and Yael is happy to go to school.

“Yael told me that she will only marry a Chabadnik and that she’ll wear a wig and not another head covering. I was so moved when I read what she had written on the first page of her Siddur: Ribbono Shel Olam, I request of you that Moshiach come now and I will overcome the Yetzer Hara.

“When a first grader nowadays writes like that, that tells me that Chabad knows how to educate. I am very grateful to the devoted teachers and administration that have incredible Ahavas Yisroel.”