The class boarded the bus happily. They had waited a long time for this annual trip that was a welcome relief from their studies. They settled down and chattered. When the bus set out, they waved goodbye to their school, Beis Chana of Tzfas, and when they left the area they recited the Tefillas Ha’Derech. “Lead us in peace … and return us in peace …” Such a simple prayer but one of great significance, to return in peace, with nothing bad taking place.
Chaya Grossman, like all of them, hoped to return in peace. She could not have anticipated what was about to happen.
The route they took was delightful. They hiked in a forest and climbed up and down, enjoying the scenery. Chaya followed her friends. One girl held a large wooden stick to help her walk.
Suddenly, the girl raised the stick and accidentally hit Chaya’s right eye. She cried out and nearly fainted from the pain. Her friends rushed to call the teachers who ran over to her. Her appearance was worrisome. The eye had swelled and there was blood. Chaya was taken to the hospital and the doctors managed to stop the bleeding, but the injury to the eye was extensive.
“In order to save the eye, a complicated operation is needed. Only a top doctor can determine whether it should be done,” they said.
Her father, Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, rav of Migdal Ha’Emek, took Chaya to an expert. The next day, they went to another doctor and then, to yet another.
They all said the same sad thing, “The eye cannot be saved.”
Chaya was given medicine to help with the pain and she wore dark glasses to hide the way her eye looked. She suffered greatly.
R’ Grossman is the dean of the Migdal Ohr institute for which he fundraises. While he was busy with Chaya, he was unable to devote enough time to the school and his debt mounted.
“I will go to the United States to raise money,” he said to his wife. Knowing how important his work was, she agreed.
“If you are going to America, take Chaya with you and go to the Lubavitcher Rebbe and ask for a bracha,” suggested a friend.
R’ Grossman wasn’t sure. After all, the doctors had said that an operation would not help and there was no way to heal the eye. And the trip might be too difficult for Chaya.
In the end, he decided to ask the Rebbe. He wrote a letter about Chaya’s medical situation and faxed it to the Rebbe. The Rebbe’s answer was: There is a famous expert in New York that you should see.
Naturally, all doubts about the trip disappeared. R’ Grossman called a travel agent and the trip was arranged for two days later. R’ Grossman and his daughter quickly prepared for the trip with many prayers in their hearts.
It was a pleasant trip for R’ Grossman and the rest of the passengers but not for Chaya. The air pressure and the movements of the plane were hard for her but the Rebbe’s answer kept her going.
The wheels of the plane touched down in the evening. R’ Grossman and Chaya left for the terminal, took their luggage and exited the airport.
“Abba, I want a bracha from the Rebbe before we go to the doctor,” Chaya requested. Her father willingly agreed.
The next morning, they stood at the entrance to 770, waiting for the Rebbe’s arrival.
The Rebbe’s car approached and the Rebbe got out of the car. He held coins for tzedaka which he gave to the children standing in the doorway of 770. Then he turned to R’ Grossman.
R’ Grossman felt his heart beat faster. “Rebbe, I request a bracha for a refuah shleima for my daughter.”
“Amen,” said the Rebbe. He added, “May you merit to raise her to Torah, chuppa and good deeds.”
Then, he turned to Chaya and blessed her. “Refuah shleima.” Then, the Rebbe walked toward his office, entered, and closed the door.
R’ Grossman and his daughter were very excited. They felt that a miracle was about to happen but did not realize how quickly that would be.
Uh oh. Chaya’s glasses had fallen and broken in two. She picked them up and tried to connect the parts but was unsuccessful, of course.
“Oy,” she thought, “everyone will see my eye.” She tried to cover it with her hand but couldn’t do that for long.
Her father had gone into 770 and she stood outside alone. What should she do? Should she call for her father?
Chaya gently touched her eye. Wonder of wonders! It did not hurt.
“Hey, I can see! I can see with my injured eye!” Chaya covered her good eye to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. No, she was not mistaken. She could see again, just like before the accident.
R’ Grossman came out of the shul just then and saw his excited daughter without glasses. He could not believe how she looked. She looked fine, just as she did before the accident.
“Abba, I don’t need a doctor! I’m fine!” she shrieked.
Words cannot describe how excited father and daughter were by this miracle. However, the Rebbe had recommended that they go to a doctor and so that is what they would do, even though it would be expensive.
“Let’s go to the doctor, even though we see you are fine, because that is what the Rebbe said,” explained R’ Grossman.
That same day, they went to the prestigious ophthalmologist. After examining Chaya’s eye with his equipment, he went back to looking at her medical file. He looked perplexed.
“I cannot explain this,” he said. “I don’t see any connection between what it says here and your eye. The papers describe a serious problem while your eye is fine.”
Then R’ Grossman told the confused doctor about the Rebbe’s miracle.
“Aha,” said the doctor. “Now I understand. If the Lubavitcher Rebbe is in the picture, everything is possible.” ■