Transforming the Prince

~ Today, Yud Shvat, marks the anniversary of the passing of Yosef Yitzchak Shneerson, the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1950, and the assuming of leadership of the movement by Menachem Mendel Shneerson in 1951 ~


There once lived a king, whose beloved son seemed to have lost his mind. Instead of acting like a normal human being, his every gesture was like that of a chicken! From not wearing clothes to eating off the ground, this prince had surely lost it! The king rushed to proclaim a big reward for anyone who could cure his son's behavioral change. But every psychologist, psychiatrist, magician, and therapist failed miserably at finding a way to change the prince back to his former self.

One day, when hope seemed lost, an elderly man entered the palace, claiming to have a solution. "Leave me alone here with the prince," he requested. The King agreed and everyone left the room. The man approached the prince, who was now sitting under the table, bawking like a chicken. Like the prince, the man too took off his clothes and knelt on the floor, bawking like a chicken. "What are you doing!?" the prince yelled at him. "I'm also a chicken," the old man replied. Content with this answer, the prince continued on his life as a chicken, as did the old man. A few hours later, the old man asked a servant walking past for a pair of pants. "Now I know you're lying! You're a human, not a chicken!" yelled the prince. "No, no," replied the man,
"I am a chicken. Why can't chickens also wear pants?" The prince agreed that this was possible, and took a pair for himself." A few hours passed, and the old man now asked a servant for a plate of chicken, with a fork and a knife. "What are you doing!?" The prince asked. "I am a chicken who enjoys a plate of fine food, eaten on a nice tablecloth. You should try it too." With slowly growing agreement, the prince sat up on a chair next tot he old man and they began to eat properly. As time passed, the old man succeeded in developing the prince back to a human reality.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, like the tzaddikim ("righteous ones") throughout our history, worked tirelessly as a guide and living example. What was he trying to accomplish? Was it to bring Judaism to those who hadn't or couldn't experience much, sending his emissaries worldwide? Was it helping everyone who met him & wrote to him both physically and spiritually? Was it teaching amazing ideas in Torah scholarship? Yes, it was all of that. But ultimately, the Rebbe labored to take the Jewish people from a narrow minded view point to a whole new reality; a better life. To be more sensitive, both to our fellow man and to G-d. Not to be hard, cold and superficial. But to open our minds and our hearts to G-d and to others.

Like the old man and the prince, the Rebbe slowly guided us not to be like an animal, and trample over everything and everyone, but to stop and appreciate the world around us, the G-dly vitality invested in it, and the people we came in contact with. In one word, to be a mentch. Literally meaning "man, or person," in Judaism this term means a lot more. To be a human and not a chicken, doesn't mean that much of a difference in today's society. Both eat, often whatever comes their way without thought or appreciation. Both desire comfort and pleasure. But when G-d asks of us to be human, He means more than that. We have the capability of not only becoming spiritually enlightened people, but of lifting up the world around us, from inanimate matter to animal and even human life, to a higher, loftier place then ever before. If we are conscious that the bread in front of me is a gift from G-d, kernels of wheat that somehow exist and can be developed into this food that gives me energy and life for my day, and I thank G-d for it with a blessing, I am a human who is fulfilling my role of elevating this created matter. From the Prime Minister of Israel to a simple person, the Rebbe tried to impart this concept of living a higher life.

Even though the Rebbe has since passed away, his teachings and inspiration remain. To always be joyful, to see G-d in everything that happens to us, to love a fellow Jew like yourself, to help the world around us, to transform this material world into a lovely dwelling place for G-d. Like Moshe of old, G-d gives us leaders to show us the path to fulfilling our inherent potential. At first goodness and holiness may startle us and seem absurd, like the prince who saw these proper human actions that were foreign to his thinking. But slowly, through work, we can develop ourselves, with the help & inspiration of our leaders, into fulfilling our spiritual potentials, in line with the essence of who we are.

For a 2 min. glimpse at one of the Rebbe's talks connected to the above idea, see here: It's a beautiful world

Shabbat Shalom!

Joy & Love

During this past week, we marked the 17th anniversary of the passing of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the 7th Rebbe (Spiritual leader) of Chabad Lubavitch. A teacher who guided and mentored a generation of people (see here), there are 2 specific areas that he continually highlighted: To be joyful, and to love every fellow Jew like you love yourself (The Rebbe also preached a love of fellow human beings, but particularly highlighted the special quality of unity among the Jewish people).

A famous story highlights this. Every Sunday in his later years (from the age of 86-92 yrs. old), the Rebbe would stand for hours on end, greeting all comers with a smile and an encouraging word, as well as a dollar for charity. An elderly lady once remarked to him in wonder, "How can you do this!? Don't you ever get tired?" To which the Rebbe responded: "One never gets tired when counting diamonds."

Which reminds me of a question posed to me recently by an elderly Rabbi at a Chassidic gathering. "I don't understand," he said. "If an angel were to appear in this room right now, everyone here would be in awe and wonderment, standing in complete reverence. And yet, Jewish Mysticism teaches that the soul of a Jew derives from the highest of G-dly realms, beyond all angels and supernal beings. So how come we show one another any less reverence or respect?"

Of course, the answer is that physicality hides the G-dly truth contained within it. At least in our mortal viewpoint, if not in the eyes of the Rebbe and other holy giants of our history. The ones who could see the diamonds in the rough - explained the true reality. Now it is up to us to train ourselves to look at the world in such a way.
But how can we if we see different?
And here lies a beautiful directive from the Rebbe that is at once simple, and very powerful: To be joyful. It's not always easy, and one doesn't always feel like putting on a smile and laughing, but beyond the good it does for our emotional health, joy "breaks all barriers" (see here). It helps us to view others favorably and with a kind eye, even if normally we might have not done so. To see the holiness in the people around us. It also helps us look at ourselves with a kind eye. Because "love your neighbor like you love yourself," only works if you love yourself! Not the egotistical type of love, but rather the appreciation for the diamond which is you; the diamond the Rebbe would see. The inner soul which is you.

And once we appreciate that we are diamonds, we can appreciate the diamonds that surround us - no matter how much mud may cover them -they are still diamonds. As Rabbi Piekarski of Del Mar once remarked: "When looking at a star from earth, it looks like the same as all of the others. But if you were to get a closer look, you would see the special, distinct quality of that particular star. So too with every fellow Jew we meet." At 1st glance we may see negativity. But get to know the person, peer deeper, and you may find a diamond.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

A Jew in Curacao

B"H


This Tuesday marks the 16th Yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
What is a Rebbe? A Rebbe is like a window in a house. A window which gives the resident of the house a glimpse into another reality.
Each one of us contains a G-dly soul - but it is clothed in a physical body with mundane desires that barrage us at will. Consciousness of the spiritual
is nearly non-existent. But the Rebbe helps us to look into another reality - a truer reality beyond the mundane. What life looks like from our soul's vantage point.

The impact the Rebbe has had on the world, both personally and through his Chabad emissaries worldwide, cannot be described in words, and the countless miraculous stories abound. Being forced to choose just one; here is one personal account that sheds a glimpse into the amazing caring & miraculous foresight of the Rebbe.
For more, see: Encounters with the Rebbe.

Shabbat Shalom!
~~~~~~

A Jew in Curacao



By Eli Groisman


I grew up in Curacao, a Caribbean island that is part of the Netherlands Antilles. There were no Jewish schools on the island at the time, and I attended the Protestant school.

I had a very difficult time at school. Although I was brought up in a non-observant household, I stubbornly refused to participate in the religious services and classes that were part of the school curriculum. Non-Jewish students picked daily fights with me, and I even felt that my teachers and the school's principal were taking their side.

When I reached 7th grade, things were coming to a head. Life was not getting easier. On the contrary, fights were more prevalent than ever and more vicious. My relations with the school principal became more and more hostile. I started skipping school. I spent my days playing golf at the nearby golf club, returning to the school grounds in time to meet my father, who drove me home every day.

One day, the principal called my father into his office to find out why I had not been in school the past few weeks. Meeting me as usual that day after school hours, my father asked, "How was school today?" I replied, "The same as always." My father then asked me, "Did you go to school today? Last week? Two weeks ago?" Not wanting to lie, I admitted that I had not.

My father gave me a choice: either give in and do as all the other boys do, or leave school and go to work with him -- and work hard -- every day. I didn't need to think long. I walked into the principal's office, put my textbooks on the principal's desk, and ran back out to my father.

Warning letters started to arrive to our home stating the law that all minors must attend school. My family's relations with the community also began to sour as a result.

My father was terribly upset about my situation, but he didn't know any way out. One night he had a dream. He saw himself near the age of three, before his upshernish, sitting on his grandmother's lap. She was saying to him, "Liuvu (Russian for 'my love'), anytime you are in trouble, the one who can help you is the Lubavitcher Rebbe." This was the first time he had ever heard of the Rebbe.

The next morning my father went to his shul, a small, unobtrusive building near his home. He asked the caretaker to unlock the door for him and went over to the Aron HaKodesh (ark), poured his heart to
G-d, and turned to leave.
_________________________

On a January day in 1984, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, assistant to Rabbi Hodakov, the Rebbe's senior secretary, received a telephone call at home from Rabbi Hodakov. "Wash your hands," instructed Rabbi Hodakov, using a code term clueing in Rabbi Kotlarsky that the Rebbe was on the line, listening. "The Rebbe wants you to go to Curacao immediately."

When the Rebbe tells a chassid to act, he does not ask questions; he acts. Rabbi Kotlarsky chose a traveling companion, Levi Krinsky, a 17-year oldyeshivah student, and both took the next flight to Curacao. Arriving at the airport and not knowing where to go or what to do there, they hailed a taxi, requesting to be taken to the synagogue.

Taxi drivers in Curacao are used to such requests, and they usually comply by driving to the largest synagogue on the island, renowned as the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, Mikvah Israel Emanuel. This synagogue, in which services are conducted only on Shabbat, functions also as a museum throughout the week. It boasts a unique feature: the floor is covered with white sand, possibly because its founders, who escaped the Inquisition, covered the steps leading to their houses of prayer in Portugal with sand in order to hide the sound of their footsteps.

This taxi driver, however, took Rabbi Kotlarsky not to Mikvah Israel Emanuel but to a small, neighborhood shul. As the taxi pulled up to the door, Rabbi Kotlarsky saw a man leaving the building. Thinking that this man would be a convenient source of information about the local Jewish community, he approached him and said: "We were sent here by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. We want to get to know the Jewish people here. We are staying at the Plaza Hotel. Can you come with us and tell us about the local community?" The man, who was none other than my father, just walking out of the shul, nearly fainted.

My father told Rabbi Kotlarsky about our family's plight, and introduced me to him. My first question to Rabbi Kotlarsky was: "Are you allowed to defend yourself if someone comes up and punches you?" I had formed an impression from the movies and TV shows I had seen about the Holocaust that Jews were weak and did not fight back when attacked. Rabbi Kotlarsky responded, "You make sure that you defend yourself, and do such damage that they won't come back to you!" I thought this Rabbi was cool.

Rabbi Kotlarsky invited me to go to New York and attend Camp Gan Israel in the Catskills that summer, and later to Yeshivah that started in September. This was the answer to my prayers, and I accepted the offer immediately.

I would like to thank the Rebbe for caring for me and my family. We should all take his example on how one should care for a fellow Jew. It doesn't have to be a Jew in far-off Curacao; it could be someone right around the corner. Surely, by following the Rebbe's example we will all merit the revelation of Moshiach.

(Below is a letter my father received from the Rebbe shortly after this story:)

A True Leader

B"H

Last week we Torah readers were riding on a high.

Our forefather Jacob was

finally re-united with his long lost son Joseph, who had been gone for 22 years. Jacob’s family was growing and prospering in huge number, living in the city of “Goshen”, a peaceful suburb off the coast of North-East Egypt.

But unfortunately, Joseph, the 2^nd-in-command to Pharaoh, passed away. All of a sudden, the situation for the Jewish people began to spiral downwards in quick fashion.

‘(Pharaoh) said to his people, “Look! The nation of Israel’s descendants are more numerous and stronger than we are! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them…” The Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with crushing labor. They embittered their lives…’

But G-d Heard the cry of his people in pain.

He was now ready to redeem them and take them to Israel.

But which leader would be chosen for such an important task? An eloquent speaker.

A polished diplomat for sure. A handsome, charming, powerful leader, right?

Moshe (Moses), the son of Amram & Yocheved, was a shepherd for his father-in-law Yisro’s

flock of sheep. The Midrash tells us that once when he was tending the sheep in the desert, one of his kid goats ran off. Moshe immediately chased after it, and finally reached the goat by a pool of water it had found to drink. Moshe said:

“I didn’t realize that you were running away because you were thirsty. You must be tired!”

So Moshe mounted the goat on his shoulders and walked back to the flock.

G-d Said to Himself, “You have such compassion for the sheep of a mere human being. You are going to shepherd my sheep, the Jewish People.” (Shemos Rabbah 2:2)

Here was the leader G-d Was looking for.

True, Moshe had a stutter. He was 80 years old, and was a shepherd.

But such a tremendous compassion and caring for another’s well-being; that he did have.

This was the one.

So G-d Came to Moshe to Communicate his mission to lead the Jewish People out of Egypt:

‘Moshe was pasturing the flocks of Yisro…He looked, and behold! The thorn bush was burning with fire, but it was not being consumed. Moshe said, “Let me turn now and see this great spectacle! Why will the thorn bush not burn?” G-d Saw that he had turned to see, and G-d Called to him from within the thorn bush… Moshe hid his face because he was afraid to look at G-d.’

Why did G-d Reveal Himself to Moshe through a thorn bush? Our Sages tell us that ‘G-d Wanted to show that He is Always with His People during their times of distress-comparable to thorns. And just as this bush was burning but not being consumed, so too the Jewish People will never be consumed.’(Rashi)

But if we take a deeper look into the revelation of G-d to Moshe,

we will find something remarkable about what type of awesome leader Moshe really was.

Our sages tell us that there is a Moshe in every generation.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Shneerson, was the Moshe of our times. He searched for every lost sheep who was thirsty for water, physically & spiritually. As Jonathan Sacks, chief Rabbi of England, once said: "The Rebbe hunts down with love those that were once hunted down with hate."

The Rebbe once explained this passage as follows: G-d Revealed Himself to Moshe in a thorn bush, as our Sages say, to show that He is with His People during all their tough times. But G-d Wanted to reveal a deep secret to Moshe.

The secret understanding behind why suffering happens to good people.

Why the thorn bush! Why the tribulations at all!

There is a verse which states: “Ain rah yoredes mi’lemala” – No bad comes from above.

But that’s only from G-d’s Perspective!

He Sees the hidden good in all that occurs to us in the world.

G-d is Like the father who smacks his son who ran into the middle of oncoming traffic. He has a good intention. But we’re the son who doesn’t understand.

G-d Wanted to show Moshe the secret reason of why. Why the burning of the thorn bush.

But how did Moshe respond to this once-in-a-lifetime offer? And “Moshe hid his face.”

Moshe gave up on an opportunity many would do anything to attain. Why?

Because Moshe understood, that the minute he sees behind the curtain, the minute he understands from G-d’s Point of view, that’s when he loses the point of view of his people. How would he ever be able to plead with a perfectly true heart to G-d on behalf of the Jewish People, if he understood the hidden good behind the apparent bad? So Moshe “hid his face.”

Kabbalah teaches us, that not only is there a Moshe in every generation, but there is a spark of Moshe in every Jewish soul. Each of us has the ability to give up on our own personal welfare and help a thirsty soul, thirsty spiritually or physically, who is lost in the desert looking for water. To hide our face, our personal gain, in order to look from a fellow Jew’s point of view, from his pain, that is our opportunity to emulate our leader Moshe.

Through our caring for each other, may G-d Send us Moshiach, the ultimate Jewish leader!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Jerusalem

P.S. If you're still hanging around to the end of the email, I want to reward you w/ an amazing 1st-hand story I heard last night. Rabbi Yisroel Shem Tov, an Elderly Chassid from Crown Heights, was visiting us here in Israel. He said this story: "In 1955, I was at a farbrengen (Chassidic Gathering) with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Rebbe began giving out matzah to all of those present. While doing so, I noticed the Rebbe take 3 pieces of Matzah, roll each one in a napkin, and put it in his jacket pocket. 'A Rebbe does things we definitely don't understand' I thought. Later that night, Mr. Weiss, the head of a nearby Jewish summer camp, came rushing past me to the Rebbe to tell him something. Within earshot, I heard him say: "There has just been a terrible car accident on the way to camp. There were campers in the van, and it flipped 3 times." Now a normal person's reaction would be one of horror or dismay. The Rebbe turned to him and laughing, asked: "3 times?" He then took out the covered matzahs and told the man to bring these to the boys in hospital. The boys soon left w/out any injuries at all."

The stories are endless. G-d, in Every generation, in his Great Kindness, sends us leaders that care for every one of their flock. And spiritually speaking, the Rebbe continues to help us and pray for each of his flock. As Tanya, Ch.27 of Igeres Hakodesh explains: "A Tzaddik is found more in this world after his death than before."

The time is Right Now

B"H

"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now,when?"
- Hillel the Elder, Ethics of our Fathers (Ch. 2, 14)
---------

Time is priceless. Even as I write this e-mail, I know that I have exactly 1 hr. to finish it before I have
to leave to the village of Kfar Chabad in order to make it there before Shabbat starts. (I will be spending it there with Rabbi Fishel Jacobs, the "Karate Rabbi," maybe some good stories for the next e-mail ;)

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Shneerson, was known for his attention to time and detail. How every second was precious in his eyes. In the late 1940's, the Rebbe moved to New York from war-torn Europe, to join his father-in-Law (The previous Rebbe) in helpingto revamp Jewish life in America. During those years, the Rebbe's father sadly passed away in Russia, and the Rebbe needed to say Kaddish (the mourner's prayer) in his memory. To enable this, a minyan (quorom of 10) students were gathered together every morning of the week for prayers.
One morning, the boys took their time and came 5 min.'s late for the minyan.
Later that day, the Previous Rebbe called in a few of the boys and scolded them:
"How could you come late? By my son-in-law, 5 min.'s are worlds."

As children growing up in Ukraine, the Rebbe and his brother would sit and learn together.
A man who was present in their house, once observed that in 30 minutes the boys had gone through 40 pages of Talmud with the commentary of Rashi and Tosfos (to put into perspective, if I'm lucky, one page w/ those commentaries would take me many hours!) With his time, the Rebbe exemplified:
"And if not now, when?"
But amazingly, we see that later in his life, the Rebbe would spend hours upon hours, the bulk of his precious time, reading letters that Jews around the world sent him. After Shabbat or a holiday, the Rebbe would stand for hours pouring wine and giving a blessing to anyone who walked by. On Sundays he would distribute dollars for charity to the thousands who came to Brooklyn for a blessing and encouragement. True, he could have been spending his time devouring the vast amount of Torah books that called to him. But "if I am only for myself, what am I?"

Yet we saw another amazing thing by the Rebbe, a great lesson to take into our personal lives.
As crucial as time was by him, even when engaging in the task of helping others, the Rebbe made sure to never overlook any individual. It's easy when you're very busy, especially when busy with helping others and engaging in a noble pursuit, to focus on the mission at hand and overlook the bystanders around you.
But not so by the Rebbe.
It's known, that as the Rebbe poured wine to the thousands that filed past, Rabbi Junik would refill his cup from a jug of wine. Rabbi Junik once remarked, "Every single time I refilled the Rebbe's cup, he told me thank you."
Now we're talking about hundreds and hundreds of pourings here. And attention needing to be given to all those filing past him. But no one deserves to be overlooked.
One morning, Rabbi Laibel Groner (the Rebbe's secretary) was making important calls in the Rebbe's office. After calling an associate for the 5th time that morning, the Rebbe remarked to him: "You didn't say good morning."

Sure a Rebbe, a truly holy and special leader of the Jewish people, is someone hard to emulate.
But it's vital that we learn a lesson from this conduct of appreciating our time here on earth, the minutes of our day which can be filled with good deeds. And at the same time, never failing to appreciate those around us deserving of a kind word, a smile, and some encouragement.

To end with one more story:
Rabbi Groner related once, that after the Rebbe suffered a heart-attack in 1977, he was relegated to his bed and forbidden to walk about for the time being. In order to put on tefillin, the Rebbe needed his secretary's help.
When Rabbi Groner opened the desk drawer where the Rebbe kept his tefillin, he found them unwrapped.
After the Rebbe finished his prayers, Rabbi Groner asked him if he should wrap them up, or leave them unwrapped as he had found them? The Rebbe responded that he could definitely wrap them up. "But is there a certain reason behind leaving them unwrapped?" asked Rabbi Groner. The Rebbe responded, "I just didn't have the time."
Again, we're talking about one minute here :)

These lessons of time use and compassion for others were taught to us 2,000 yrs. ago by Hillel the Elder.
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?"
But the Rebbe was a living example of these traits that we could observe.

May each of us incorporate these special qualities into our lives, appreciating others and using out the precious time allotted to us on this earth, to better our surroundings and form the world into a home which G-d enjoys Dwelling in.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel
Jerusalem

Short video of the Rebbe's life

B"H

This Wed. Night/Thursday is the 15th Anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

To see interesting personal encounter videos w/ the Lubavitcher Rebbe, click here:

To see a short bio video of the Rebbe, click here:

~Have a great week!

The Rebbe's Children: A True Story

The Rebbe's Children http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/695811/jewish/The-Rebbes-Children.htm By Diane Abrams

Bob pointing to where I am sitting. I first met Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe of righteous memory, after I had just become engaged to the Bronx borough president, Robert Abrams. Rabbi Mowshowitz, an acquaintance of Bob's, arranged an appointment for us with the Rebbe, for us to receive a blessing prior to our marriage. I remember arriving at 770 at midnight, but we did not enter the Rebbe's room until 3:00 am. The Rebbe was very gracious, and that appointment started an ongoing relationship which continued for many years. The Rebbe believed in women's involvement in communal affairs. On one of our visits to the Rebbe, Bob, as a public officer, was describing his communal activities since he last saw the Rebbe. At one point he requested the Rebbe's guidance on a particular communal issue. The Rebbe turned to me and asked, "So what about you? We are in the period of women's liberation. You must have a view. What's your opinion on the issue?" Another story: One time, in the course of a farbrengen (public Chassidic gathering) Bob presented the Rebbe with an honorary proclamation in honor of his birthday. He informed the Rebbe that he was bringing this proclamation on behalf of all the citizens of the Bronx, Jews and non-Jews alike. The Rebbe asked him, "Where is your wife?" I remember seeing Bob pointing towards the women's section. Later Bob told me that he had told the Rebbe that I was right there, behind the glass window. When I was forty-eight years of age, I only had one child, Rachel, and my husband and I wanted another child. We went to a doctor who was considered an expert in the field, and she told us that we had less than a five percent chance of having another child. Throughout the time when we were visiting doctors and doing research on the possibility of having another child we had not told anyone about this, not even our parents. We were hoping and praying alone that we would have another child. Every year on Hoshana Rabba (the final day of the holiday of Sukkot) we would come to the Rebbe to receive a traditional piece of honey cake and a blessing for a good and sweet year. That year we arrived directly from a funeral which Bob and I had attended; it was the first time we had not brought Rachel with us to the Rebbe. My husband and I bring newborn Becky to the Rebbe. Out of the blue, the Rebbe looked at us and gave us his blessing for "an addition to the family within the next year." I was stunned. How could he have known that this is what we wanted? We had made no such request of the Rebbe nor did we tell any of the Rebbe's secretaries about our wish. It was tremendously encouraging to me, and many times throughout the year I thought about the Rebbe's blessings, picturing the moment when the Rebbe gave us that special blessing. Six weeks later, it was on Thanksgiving, I tested myself on one of those home pregnancy tests and it turned blue, indicating a positive result. I remember asking Rachel what color it was, and she said it was blue. I asked her again, "Are you sure it's not white?" And she said, "No, Mom, it is definitely blue!" I immediately went to the doctor's office for a "real" test. Actually it was our daughter's pediatrician, because most doctors were not in on Thanksgiving Day. He called back to say that the test was positive... but there must be some mistake because it simply could not be that I was pregnant! Instead, he advised that I take another test. Sure enough the second test was positive as well. I was absolutely ecstatic. A year later, in my fiftieth year, I gave birth to a wonderful girl, Binyomina, or Becky, named after my father-in-law Binyomin, who was a very fine and special man. The day I went to the hospital, Rachel, ten years old at the time, was at home. The phone rang, and Rachel answered. It was Rabbi Krinsky, one of the Rebbe's secretaries, calling at the Rebbe's behest. "Is everything okay with your mom?" he asked. "I think so," Rachel responded. "She went to the hospital a few hours ago. I think she is about to have a baby." As it turned out, I was delivering our second child at that moment when Rabbi Krinsky called on the Rebbe's behalf! When Becky was a few months old, we went for our traditional annual Hoshana Rabba visit to the Rebbe. Normally, the line of people waiting to receive the Rebbe's blessings extended for three-four blocks along and around the Crown Heights streets, but the chassidim were always so very nice to us. When our car would arrive, somehow, somebody would come and lead us to the front of the line, sparing us the long wait. We had the little infant in our hands. The Rebbe said, "I see you brought the addition to your family." This was a year later, and the Rebbe used the exact words he had used one year earlier. I said that we wanted to thank the Rebbe very much for giving us this beautiful child. Becky and me. "No, it wasn't me," the Rebbe said. And he lifted his hand and pointed towards the Heavens. This was the Rebbe, always shifting the focus away from himself. I remember another occasion when Bob presented a proclamation to the Rebbe, and he praised the Rebbe for all his work. The Rebbe's response? "It is not me, it is the movement." The Rebbe was always focused on the other person, his sensitivity to others heightened to an incredible degree. He practically never left his house, but he knew all that was going on worldwide. This was one of his great powers, his great strength. When standing before him you felt that you were the only person in the world. He never made you feel that he was greater than you; he brought out the best in you. The Rebbe himself had no children, yet he gave so many people blessings for children. We are all his children.