Reactions, Notes, And Follow Ups To Previous Articles
By Mrs. Rochel Gershowitz

At that moment, I opened my eyes

Fraidy ben Shimon, who was interviewed in issue #261 about growing up in Mexico, her move to Eretz Yisroel and subsequent transition to Chabad, volunteered another fascinating detail recently provided by her father when he read the article about his daughter.

“When I was a two-week old baby,” Fraidy said, “my mother visited a pediatrician in Mexico, who diagnosed me with a severe throat inflammation. The doctor gave me a penicillin injection and I lost consciousness. The doctor was unable to rouse me and he personally took me to the nearest hospital along with my mother.

“Once at the hospital, my mother called my father in tears, telling him of my critical state. My father was shaken up. He immediately called the Rebbe’s secretariat and received the Rebbe’s bracha for a refua shleima. At that moment, I opened my eyes.”
 

expecting a child
A shlucha somewhere outside of Eretz Yisroel read the article printed in issue #256, about a woman who had twins after her daughter, Libby, davened for them as she bentched licht Friday night. She called the woman and asked that Libby daven that she have a child, too. The girl added the woman’s name to the list she keeps in a special notebook. Barely two months had passed when the shlucha (who would like to remain anonymous) felt she had to call and let Libby know that her tefillos had been effective, as she is expecting a child.
 

“Don’t you want to be a June bride?”
The story in issue #268, about the car that went up in flames, told about the chassan who was badly burned in the accident. In a conversation with his wife, she related a most interesting yechidus she had had with the Rebbe. This is her story:

My chassan and I had a yechidus. I was still a student at the time, which is why my family decided to push off the wedding for a few months, when I would finish school. The date we had chosen was 5 Elul.

I apprehensively asked my chassan what to speak about at the yechidus, because I hadn’t had much experience with yechiduyos. He calmed me, saying that the Rebbe would read the Pa’N and bless us and that would be all. I believed him.

We entered the Rebbe’s room and the first thing that happened was the Rebbe looked at the note with the wedding date and turned to me with a broad smile and said, “You want to wait until 5 Elul? Why not make it earlier?”

I was momentarily confused, but I found the words to explain that I first had to finish my year at school. “So finish the year as a new kalla,” said the Rebbe smiling. “Don’t you want to be a June bride?”

“No,” I answered, and then I noticed my chassan looking at me in amazement as though he wanted to tell me something. I didn’t know what he meant.

“I want to finish school (where I was staying in a dormitory far from home) and then go back home. I’d like to be with my family in order to be able to prepare for the wedding.”

The Rebbe didn’t give up. “But you can also get ready quickly...”

“No,” I heard myself insist, and again I noticed my chassan looking as though he was about to faint. “My mother will be upset if it is all rushed and not organized as she would like.”

When the Rebbe saw that I was unwilling to change my mind, he gave us a bracha for 5 Elul. It was only after we left the yechidus that my chassan said he was totally shocked about how I had dared to argue with the Rebbe. He informed me that one does not have such dialogues with the Rebbe. But it was too late...

When the car accident happened in Tammuz, when my chassan was traveling with a group of friends to a wedding, I cried bitterly, remembering how the Rebbe tried to convince me to get married earlier. I was disturbed by the thought: If we had been married already, this wouldn’t have happened. Why didn’t I listen to the Rebbe?
 

The Rebbe knows everything
A shlucha in the C.I.S. read an article about shlichus in the Hebrew section of Beis Moshiach. She noted how true it was that the Rebbe ensures that a shaliach should not stumble, and related the following story:

My husband was mekarev a boy to Yiddishkeit, and he became a member of our household. Little by little, he began learning Chassidus and became mekushar to the Rebbe. When he was ready for a shidduch, we looked for a special girl for him. We finally found the right girl, someone eidel, mekushar to the Rebbe, and someone my husband and I both knew, and we suggested the idea to the boy.

They met, and after a number of dates they decided to marry. We were thrilled, for this was the first shidduch we managed to make. My husband explained to the happy couple that the proper thing to do was to ask for the Rebbe’s bracha before publicizing the good news. They happily agreed and put a note into the Igros Kodesh.

My husband opened the volume with a big smile and began reading out loud: “A kosher bas Yisroel should be found…” and he stopped smiling. I was also stunned. I looked over at the chassan who looked discomfited. I turned to the kalla. Her face was ashen and she trembled. Suddenly she got up from her chair, turned towards the boy and said, “The Rebbe knows everything. I can’t hide anything from him. A week ago, my mother told me the truth – we are not Jewish. She forged her documents so that we could leave for Eretz Yisroel. I didn’t get up the courage to tell you the truth, but the Rebbe knows it all.”

Naturally, the couple did not marry, but my husband and I saw again that the Rebbe watches over the Yidden.