MY DREAM OF DREAMS

Mrs. Tzivia Levy woke up very early one morning after a fascinating dream about the Rebbe. In the dream, the Rebbe gave her a vast amount of gold and jewelry, and then he asked her to fulfill the mitzvah of separating the challah as the Rebbe himself made the bracha. Not long afterwards, the details of this dream miraculously began to take place, one by one, in a most amazing and unexpected fashion.

 In recent weeks, a thrilling story took place in the Chabad community the Holy City of Tzfas, and it eventually spread to Anash communities throughout the world. “Last week, I was invited to conduct Hafrashas Challa ceremonies in Haifa, Yerushalayim, and Kiryat Shmoneh, and the telephone hasn’t stopped ringing,” said Mrs. Tzivia Levy, long-time resident of the local Chabad community. “Women have been calling from communities all over the country.”

Mrs. Levy’s story, which took place this year on the night of the 27^th of Shvat, was an amazing chain of Divine Providence. All those who have heard the details of this incredible story were left stunned in disbelief.

IN YECHIDUS WITH THE REBBE

“As Chabad Chassidim, we know that when we have a dream about the Rebbe, this is not something in the category of ‘the folly of vain dreams.’ In fact, from the manner in which things developed after that amazing dream, it was quite clear to see how they spoke for themselves as the details of this dream miraculously began to take place, one by one.

“It all started three months ago in the early hours of the 27^th of Shvat. At around a quarter to five in the morning, I had a fascinating dream. I dreamt that I was walking through the main door of 770, and then passed through the entranceway leading to the secretaries’ office.

“One of the secretaries (I don’t recall which one) rushed forth and called me in to see the Rebbe.

“I stood there bewildered for a few minutes, deeply moved by the fact that I was about to meet with the Rebbe. Suddenly, before I had time to think, the secretary motioned for me to come in. ‘Are you certain that the Rebbe is calling me?’ I asked skeptically, and the secretary said ‘Yes’ most emphatically. I walked into a room, and then I saw myself being led down a long corridor. At this point, the secretary told me to continue walking alone, as the Rebbe was waiting for me at the end of the corridor, and so I did.

“At the end of this corridor was another room. This wasn’t the Rebbe’s familiar chamber (Gan Eden HaElyon); it was a totally different room, something quite unreal. The door itself was wide open, and there stood the Rebbe at the entrance, in all his glory, with a warm and fatherly smile on his lips as he waited for me to come in.

“In the room was a table with numerous gifts upon it, and the Rebbe explained that all the gifts were for me. Surprised and astonished, I found myself asking the Rebbe: ‘Is all this for me?’ and the Rebbe replied in the affirmative. At this point, the Rebbe presented me with a block of braided gold. Suddenly, my Aunt Penina appeared at my side, while the Rebbe asked me to open the block of gold. When I opened it, I found inside a gold chain, bracelets, and rings.

“The Rebbe continued to give me more jewelry, and I simply couldn’t comprehend the reason behind this material bounty. What had I done to deserve this?

“After the Rebbe had finished handing out this treasure, I noticed a bowl of flour and water on the table. I realized that I was now supposed to knead the dough, which I did. There was about four or five kilos of flour in the bowl. When I finished kneading, there was a large pile of dough, and the Rebbe instructed me to separate challah.

“My Aunt Penina was still standing near me, and we were both consumed by indescribable emotion and a feeling of profound inner joy. I carried out the Rebbe’s instructions and separated a portion of the dough. The Rebbe placed his hand upon the separated dough, made the bracha, and we answered ‘Amen.’

“Afterwards, the Rebbe put both his hands into the bowl, took out a large piece of dough, and gave it to me. The Rebbe then instructed me to take this dough home, gather some women, and do Hafrashas Challa with them. The Rebbe asked me to request from the women participating to separate their own challa, thereby increasing the fulfilling of this mitzvah throughout the world.

“As the Rebbe finished giving his instructions, I immediately woke up. I looked at my bedroom clock and saw that it was a quarter to five in the morning. It took me a while to digest this amazing dream. I woke up my husband and told him about the dream in great detail.

“That very morning, I decided to follow the Rebbe’s orders. I went to my daughter’s house, and after I told her about my incredible dream, we baked challos out of two kilos of flour and did Hafrashas Challa. That evening, there was a farbrengen for women in the home of Mrs. Yael Hagi of Tzfas, and I brought with me several rolls from what we had baked earlier in the day. I took this opportunity to speak to the women and tell about my dream publicly for the first time. I then gave each of them a piece of one of the rolls and asked them to do Hafrashas Challa in their own homes.

“Since then, I have been invited to about ten Challa workshops, hosted by women who heard my story and attended by numerous participants. On each occasion, after taking the opportunity to tell the story again, I ask the women in attendance to become stronger in their observance of Torah, mitzvos, and Chassidic conduct with an actual sense of anticipation for the True and Complete Redemption.

HIDDEN TREASURES IN THE STORAGE SPACE

“At first, I carried out the Rebbe’s instructions without understanding the meaning of my dream. The first buds of understanding began to penetrate my mind a few days later, when the weekly Torah portion spoke about the free-will offerings brought by the Jewish People to build the Mishkan. I learned one of the Rebbe’s sichos on the parsha, where the Rebbe brings that Zahav (gold) is an acronym for Zeh HaNosain Bari [This one who gives is healthy]. The fact of the matter is that during the months prior to having this dream, I had been dealing with a rather complex health condition. The doctors made their diagnosis, and there were some very difficult times. However, I adopted a much healthier lifestyle, and with G-d’s help, I now feel completely healthy.

“As soon as I realized that gold is connected to health, I felt how the Rebbe was hinting that he was accompanying me during this difficult period. Clearly, he was bestowing me with tremendous blessings and encouragement.

“The continuous sequence of Divine Providence wasn’t over yet. This was merely the first salvo, a single link in a chain of pearls.

“Just before my wedding, more than three decades ago, I received a large amount of gold jewelry from my mother, my mother-in-law, friends, and relatives. My father had been a goldsmith by profession. He had given me a gold pendant, and he asked me to use the gold to make various forms of jewelry. In general, as a result of my father’s business, I had already acquired before my wedding a sizable quantity of gold necklaces and bracelets, far more than anyone else my age.

“I kept everything in a special case with the dollars that my husband and I had received from the Rebbe on different occasions. However, to my great sadness, one day about thirty years ago, the box disappeared. I searched high and low a number of times, turning every drawer and closet in my house upside down, but the jewelry had vanished into thin air. I was very upset about this for quite some time, but life goes on and I simply tried to forget all about it. Every once in a while, I thought of another place where this lost treasure might possibly turn up. Yet, after looking again and again, the search revealed nothing.

“About six weeks after my dream, on Motzaei Shabbos HaGadol, my daughter urged me to take several dusty cartons out of the storage space that had been lying there for years, go through them carefully, and throw out whatever I didn’t need. ‘They’re simply taking up space,’ she kept telling me. ‘Leave only the things you have to keep, and anything else that serves no purpose put out with the garbage.’

“Every year just before Pesach, I thought about taking care of those boxes, but I never seemed to find the time. This year, my daughter was very stubborn about it.

“Less than one week before the Seder night, I finally decided to empty out the storage space. I climbed up and brought down the cartons. Opening them one by one, I poured out their contents and made a thorough check. To be quite honest, I did it with a total lack of enthusiasm. The primary motivation was to satisfy my daughter.

“Everything was old and covered with dust. Most of the items ended up in the trash bin. Hours passed, and it was already three o’clock in the morning. My eyes were bleary from exhaustion and there was only one more carton to check. I considered whether I should open it now or wait until next year. Eventually, as tired as I was, I decided to finish the job, once and for all. ‘If I’ve already started…,’ I thought to myself. I started emptying the carton and sorting things out – back into storage or out with the garbage. Finally, as I reached the bottom of the box, I noticed a case that I hadn’t seen for many years.

“It never dawned on me for a moment what this case contained. I calmly opened it, and to my great surprise, I discovered all the jewelry items that had been lost at the beginning of my marriage thirty years ago. They had been sitting there like an unturned stone for decades. Apparently, I had stored all the jewelry in the same compartment and totally forgot it.

“I took out a gold bracelet that I had received from my mother on the occasion of my younger brother’s wedding. There was another piece of jewelry that my father had given me: a gold bracelet worn by my mother, of blessed memory. It was one of five I had received after her passing, in honor of my five brothers. I found another bracelet from my mother-in-law and several other gold items I had acquired as a young girl. Each piece of jewelry had its own story, and my heart filled with joy as I recalled each one.

“At first, I didn’t tie this amazing find with my dream of several weeks earlier. It only occurred to me after I had taken out all of the jewelry items, when I discovered a stack of ten dollars that my husband and I had received from the Rebbe during a three-month stay in Crown Heights shortly after our wedding. Suddenly, I realized the connection between the dream and finding my lost treasure. As I removed the dollars from the case, I also noticed that there was a letter inside. When I opened the letter, my jaw dropped in shock.

“This was a letter that I had received with my friends at the ‘Ohr Menachem’ Chabad girls’ school in Tzfas on the 11^th of Nissan 5745, in reply to a letter that we had sent at the time. I always knew that I had received a letter then, however, it too had suddenly disappeared as if the earth had swallowed it up. All my efforts to try and find it had gone for naught. The Rebbe’s letter was addressed to the students, boys and girls alike, and he wrote as follows:

The letter and the PaN have been received.

In preparation for the coming Holiday of Matzos, the Time of our Freedom, for us and all Jews in a good way, I hereby express my blessing for a kosher and happy holiday with true freedom, freedom from material and spiritual worries – in all things that prevent Avodas Hashem with joy and gladness of heart.

And to continue with this freedom and joy in all the days throughout the year.

And in particular that Avodas Hashem, as commanded upon us in our Torah, the Torah of Life, shall be in all concerns of man, and throughout the entire day and the entire night, and as is stated: In all your ways you shall know Him.

With holiday blessing, /the Rebbe’s holy signature/

P.S. Much appreciation for the brachos. And as is stated in the Holy Torah: I will bless (G-d, the source of brachos) those who bless you with the blessing of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, Whose increase is greater than the main portion.

“I sit and read the letter again and again, especially the last three lines – ‘And I will bless (G-d, the source of brachos) those who bless you with the blessing of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, Whose increase is greater than the main portion’, as my eyes began to well with tears. This could only be an incredible case of Divine Providence. I felt that I was receiving an extraordinary level of strength and encouragement from the Rebbe. It couldn’t have been clearer.

“The amazing thing was that the letter was found just two days before Yud-Alef Nissan, only thirty years later…

“Among Chabad Chassidim, it is known that while dreams about the Rebbeim are absolute truth, we aren’t always privileged to see the details of the dream fulfilled in this world. I was privileged to see how spirituality can even be revealed in the form of a letter, dollars, and the physical discovery of the gold jewelry that I had lost many years ago until that dream.”

DRAWING DOWN THE SPIRITUAL FLOW

Mrs. Tzivia Levy, a well-known member of the Tzfas Chabad community, concludes her story in a voice filled with deep emotion. “I feel that I had received a wondrous gift from the Rebbe, an amazing and moving expression of closeness, a literal revelation of light. Wherever I tell this story to other women, they become stronger and I wish them all the best. I see this as an actual shlichus, and I intend to try and come wherever I am invited, thereby fulfilling the Rebbe’s instructions in actual deed.”