A moving story that began at a Chassidishe farbrengen at a high-tech company when one of the participants removed a bundle of dollars that he received from the Rebbe and began giving a dollar to each participant with a need. * The amazing dream that followed completed the circle with the birth of a baby to the astonishment of the doctors.
Rabbi Tzvi Shmuel Neiman and his wife Talia are part of the Chabad community in Ramot in Yerushalayim. R’ Neiman works for the high-tech company Elad Maarachot, which is located in the building of the Courts Administration in Yerushalayim. His wife is a psychologist who has helped many with her advice.
As of two years ago, they had one son. Ten years had passed since they married and their big dream was to have a bigger family. But reasons having to do with the birth of their first child made their dream seem unrealistic, and life went on.
“I’m telling you the story and I feel the chills even though two and a half years have passed since the miracle,” said Tzvi in a conversation we had with him in the Microsoft offices in Raanana. He is spending time there lately while busy with a big project for work.
“As I am laying out for you the background details leading up to the incredible miracle we experienced, I find myself recalling the experiences and feelings, the fears and the tests, and the tremendously happy ending. I am still amazed and cannot believe this really happened.”
DOLLARS FROM THE REBBE FOR ALL WHO NEED THEM
“Like every Chassid and mekushar to the Rebbe, along with my professional work I try to turn my workplace into a platform for shlichus and spreading the wellsprings. In a high-tech company where the work is demanding, it is hard to do outreach work the way it’s done in other, more open, places. But even here, I’ve found plenty that can be done. In the building of the Courts Administration there is an office for the Rabbinic Courts Administration, where there is a special place designated for davening. I began arranging farbrengens over there on a regular basis and shiurim in Chassidus on special days in the calendar.
“One of the regular participants at these farbrengens is a well-known lawyer who serves as the local assistant attorney general. He is not a Lubavitcher and in his appearance does not look connected to the Rebbe, but he lived in Crown Heights in his youth and had private meetings with the Rebbe. He also passed by the Rebbe for dollars on a number of occasions. His outlook on the Rebbe is not that of a Chassid, but he has a warm spot for Lubavitch and greatly admires the Rebbe. At every farbrengen that I arrange, he shares stories that he experienced when he lived near the Rebbe.
“Three years ago, before 12 Tammuz, I told him about the upcoming farbrengen and he promised to come and even made a nice donation toward refreshments. During the farbrengen I mentioned his donation and thanked him for it and asked him to tell us something he remembered from the Rebbe. He described the dollars scene in a way that was unforgettable. He told us that a quick glance from the Rebbe was enough to make you feel that you had been blessed and received answers to all your questions.
“Among the people present were those who knew nothing about the Rebbe giving out dollars and they asked questions about it. To my surprise, at a certain point, he asked us to wait a few moments and he went up to his office and returned with a bundle of dollars that he received from the Rebbe.
‘It is an auspicious time,’ he announced, ‘and I will give a dollar for bracha and hatzlacha to whoever has sufficient reason for it.’
“The one who came forward first was someone from Givat Mordechai whose wife was very sick. He told about her bleak condition and the lawyer immediately took out a dollar from the Rebbe and gave it to him. When the man looked at the date written on the dollar he jumped up and said it was the date of his anniversary. Everyone present considered this a sign that this dollar, which had been received so many years ago, was designated for this couple.
“Sure enough, we heard a few months later that his wife had recovered.
“After he received his dollar, I decided that I also had to get a dollar from the Rebbe. We had only one child after ten years of marriage and we wanted more children. I said why I wanted the dollar and the lawyer took out a dollar from the Rebbe and gave it to me. Everyone blessed us.
“I held the dollar and was very moved. I was the one who organized the farbrengen and the Rebbe gave me a gift. I did not imagine how big the gift was.”
A VIVID DREAM
“After the first birth that went smoothly, my wife’s health deteriorated and a routine checkup at Hadassah Ein Kerem miraculously showed that during the birth an infection had developed in the valves of her heart. My wife was rushed to open heart surgery, an operation which saved her life. Statistically, she was called a walking miracle. The discovery of the infection happened by chance, according to the doctors, but we know it was a miracle.
“We were taking our first steps toward Chassidus and hiskashrus to the Rebbe at that time. The surgery was scheduled for Yud Shevat and the shliach at the hospital was R’ Yonasan Shpitzer who helped us during that difficult time.
“When my wife was released from the hospital, she was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease. When she was released from the hospital, the cardiologist, Dr. Dan Gilon, told us unequivocally that the chances of our having additional children were nil, and we should be grateful every day that my wife had a second chance at life.
“Years passed and we constantly dreamed of having a larger family, but we understood that according to nature this was not feasible. There were times that we made peace with our lot. Now, after unexpectedly receiving a dollar from the Rebbe, our hope for another child seemed possible.
“That night, I had an amazing dream. In my dream, I saw myself in a Lag B’Omer parade in Crown Heights. On Eastern Parkway, I was walking past the platform where the Rebbe stood. I stopped, and the Rebbe held out a dollar to me. I nearly stopped breathing in my excitement. I raised my hand and made a mighty effort to take the dollar from the Rebbe. It wasn’t easy because of the big distance between us and I had to stand on tiptoe, but I finally did it. I took the dollar and the Rebbe’s face was shining. Then I woke up agitated and shaken.
“After that vivid dream, I could not fall back asleep. I figured that I had the dream because I was excited about the dollar I had gotten that day. When I told my wife about the dream, she was also excited but our lives continued as always. As the days passed, the strong feeling dissipated.
“Not much time elapsed and we were told a baby is on the way. We were in shock. Surprised and thrilled. The dollar had brought bracha.
“Nine months went by and as each day passed and everything remained fine, it was a reason for prayer and thanks. One of the symptoms of my wife’s condition is that babies are born premature at a stage when they cannot survive. Our prayers and of those who knew us pierced the heavens and got stronger as the doctors’ fear mongering and threats grew. The doctors warned us about the wanton danger we were taking following the heart operation, but our faith, and mainly my wife’s faith, was enormous. Throughout that time we did not stop receiving brachos from the Rebbe in the Igros Kodesh which encouraged us.
“The answers were clear and said, ‘May the days of the pregnancy be completed and she give birth routinely and easily.’ In another answer the Rebbe wrote ‘not to be concerned at all about the heart problem.’ All those clear answers strengthened us tremendously. Thank G-d, my wife gave birth to our second son on time. A team of doctors was around her bed when she gave birth. They all wanted to see the miracle with their own eyes.
“My wife’s cardiologist from ten years earlier, with whom we were still in touch, came from the eighth floor to see the wonder for himself. After the birth he shook my hand and said two words: Yesh Elokim (there is a G-d). The nurse who came along with him held the medical file. She was also amazed and she asked where we got the courage to go through with all this.
“Of course, the answer was - the Rebbe, the Rebbe, and the Rebbe. Without the Rebbe’s brachos and the dollar that we got, we would not have had the requisite strength.
“In similar cases, right after the birth the baby is whisked away for tests and is watched carefully in the NICU, but we didn’t experience that.”
REBBE, “ABBA” AND “IMA”
“Our son was born on 29 Nissan, Erev Rosh Chodesh, but due to medical concerns, the bris was postponed to Lag B’Omer.
“As everyone stood around the baby, I was reminded of that extraordinary dream in which I received a dollar from the Rebbe during the Lag B’Omer parade, even though it was actually 12 Tammuz that day. Everyone knows Lag B’Omer is an auspicious day for brachos for children.
“We named our son Menachem Mendel. He is two years old now and the first word he said wasn’t ‘Abba’ or ‘Ima’ but ‘Rebbe.’”