When my son was released from the hospital after a month-long stay, the doctors were talking about a “medical miracle.” Recovering from such a serious injury was totally unprecedented.
The Hadassah Women’s Organization, entrusted with collecting money and providing public relations services for the Hadassah Medical Center in Yerushalayim, took my son with them to the United States to speak about his miraculous recovery, a literal case of “You have given those who fear You trials with which to be tested.”
The fact that our son is with us today, alive and healthy, is a totally unnatural phenomenon. They didn’t know that everything came from an explicit bracha from the Lubavitcher Rebbe…
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
Like a clap of thunder on a clear day ,I received the shocking news that my son, a fighter in the Israel Defense Forces’ Duvdevan special operations unit ,was seriously injured after an encounter with Arab terrorists in Beit Lechem .He had been transported to the Hadassah Medical Center in extremely critical condition with his life literally hanging in the balance .Mrs Ofra Ben-Gigi ,resident of Ma’alot-Tarshicha and principal of the Noam School in Tzfas ,knew exactly what she had to do during those fateful hours: write to the Rebbe via Igros Kodesh ,something that she had done in the past.
“The story took place twelve and a half years ago,” she recalled with great accuracy. “My first-born son was serving at the time in the IDF ‘Duvdevan’ special operations force. This was during the second intifada, and vile suicide terrorists were regularly setting off explosives on buses and in other crowded locations. Soldiers in his unit would place their lives at risk night after night, as they made their way through enemy neighborhoods to apprehend these cursed messengers of darkness, along with their superiors.
“On that night, an important lifesaving mission awaited them. The General Security Services had received vital information that one of these terrorist commanders was located in the city of Beit Lechem, and the ‘Duvdevan’ unit had been given orders to capture him alive. However, despite the regular nightly training for such military operations, events unexpectedly spiraled out of control that night. The hunted terrorist and his cohorts had discovered the presence of the IDF force and unleashed a barrage of heavy fire in its direction. A street battle quickly ensued.
“During the clash, my son sustained a severe head wound and was transported to the hospital. The first word we received from the medical authorities was that our son had been seriously wounded in the head, and they requested that we come immediately to the Hadassah Medical Center in Yerushalayim. I wouldn’t wish such a nerve-wracking journey upon any mother. Reports on his condition were sketchy. Thus, it should come as no wonder to anyone that the long trip to Yerushalayim felt even longer. We kept praying the whole way there for a miracle to save our son.
“While we were still en route to the hospital, we called several rabbanim with whom we were acquainted and asked them to pray for him. Then, I suddenly recalled my close friend, the principal of the Chabad girls’ school in Tzfas, Mrs. Nechama Chaya Navon. Whenever we met, she would tell me about the great miracles and wonders experienced by those who had received the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s blessing via Igros Kodesh. I too had tried this method of personal salvation before and I had seen the successful results for myself.
“I quickly called Mrs. Navon, and in a voice cracking with emotion, I told her about my son’s condition and asked her to request a bracha from the Rebbe on our behalf. She promised to put everything else aside and do this for us right away. Just a few minutes later, she called back with an answer that she had received in Vol. 7 (Letter #2189):
I was pleased to receive his letter, in which he informs [me] that his son, sh’yichyeh, has already returned to full strength and is diligently involved in his studies. May it be G-d’s Will that he will soon also provide good news on the state of health of his wife, tichye. During these days [recalling] Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, etc., the avoda is to the other extent (and even more than according to what the Rambam writes in Hilchos Deios, Ch. 2), i.e., complete and boundless love for one’s fellow Jew. This was discussed in part in the sicha of Shabbos Mevarchim Sivan, which he has surely seen, and G-d will transform these days into joy and happiness with good news in material and spiritual matters.
“She read the answer and we were astounded. The Rebbe had begun the letter with the words ‘I was pleased (B’Noam),’ and at the time, I was the principal of the Noam School in Tzfas. As the letter continued, the Rebbe added that he had received word that the writer’s son had already returned to full strength and was diligently involved in his studies, and he was filled with hope that they would also inform him of an improvement in the state of his wife’s health.
“The Rebbe concluded by expressing his confidence that these days would soon be transformed into times of joy and happiness, and he would hear good news in both material and spiritual matters. The Rebbe’s words imbued us with encouragement and reassurance. Equipped with this calming message, we arrived at the hospital.
“I remained at my son’s hospital bedside for a full month. The injuries he sustained were extremely serious. The bullet penetrated his mouth, smashing the oral cavity, tongue, and teeth, and then continuing to the spine and striking the major artery leading to the blood vessels. The medical staff began its surgical work on the field of battle, a decision that eventually saved his life. Hadassah Medical Center surgeon Dr. Jose Cohen performed a complicated and intricate operation to place seventeen thin tubes in the major artery, thereby putting a halt to the massive bleeding.
“When my son was released from the hospital after a month-long stay, the doctors were talking about the ‘medical miracle.’ Recovering from such a serious injury was totally unprecedented, both in Eretz Yisroel and the world at-large. The Hadassah Women’s Organization, entrusted with collecting money and providing public relations services for the Hadassah Medical Center in Yerushalayim, flew my son to the United States to speak about his miraculous recovery, a literal case of ‘You have given those who fear You trials with which to be tested.’ The fact that our son is with us today, alive and healthy, is a totally unnatural phenomenon.
“The Rebbe’s answer was absolutely precise.
“During the days of my son’s hospitalization, we were informed that his young wife was in the early stages of pregnancy, and we were most concerned for her welfare. Yet, the Rebbe had already written in his letter about health for our son and that he also expects to receive good news from his wife – and so it was. Within a few months, our son had recovered and his wife, our daughter-in-law, had given birth to our first grandchild, a girl. Mother and baby were both healthy and strong.
“That same year, even before the birth of our granddaughter, I had been considering the possibility of taking a sabbatical from my work as a school principal. Naturally, I presented my feelings of indecision in a letter to the Rebbe, and I placed it in a volume of Igros Kodesh.
“In a simply amazing reply, the Rebbe noted that education was not a task from which you can take a vacation. Incredibly, he also wrote about the great joy and happiness of people who become grandparents. In fact, just a few months later, we were blessed with the birth of this sweet granddaughter. She was our first grandchild, bestowing upon my husband and myself the titles of grandfather and grandmother.”
Mrs. Ben-Gigi asked if she could conclude her story with yet another curious occurrence:
“In the merit of Mrs. Navon, I wrote to the Rebbe several times. However, since leaving Tzfas, a long time passed since the last time I had written. She contacted me recently about publicizing my miraculous story, and I decided that the time had come to write to the Rebbe again and receive his blessing. After composing the letter, I placed it in a volume of Igros Kodesh, and what were the first words to catch my eyes upon opening the seifer? ‘His letter has been received after a lengthy period that I didn’t hear from him…’”