By Nechama Bar
770 was full of people, as usual. Off to the side, Chassidim gathered in small groups to farbreng, while others sat and learned Chassidus together or listened to a shiur from a mashpia.
R’ Motti Gal a”h, shliach in Ramat Gan, was walking around and trying to decide which group he should join. Then he noticed someone familiar. He took a good look and realized it was Shimi, a friend from the neighborhood, who wasn’t yet a Chassid.
“Shimi! Shalom aleichem!” R’ Motti shook his hand warmly and gave him a hug. “How are you doing? What are you doing here? It’s great to see you in 770!”
Shimi was a little hunched over and he looked sad and worried. R’ Motti, who knew Shimi well, immediately realized that something had happened. Shimi always walked upright as the successful businessman that he was, and he usually had a smile on his face and confident air about him. But this time, there was no smile.
R’ Motti put a hand on Shimi’s shoulder, looked him in the eye, and said, “Shimi, I can see that something is bothering you. Please tell me what’s going on.”
With tears in his eyes, Shimi said, “As you know, I work in diamonds. I came here, to New York, on business. I had a very large amount of valuable diamonds with me, worth a fortune. I arranged to meet with some businessmen and signed a deal. The deal seemed very worthwhile but a short while later I realized I had fallen into a trap. Now I don’t have even one diamond left. How can I go back home?” and Shimi, the big businessman, burst into tears.
“Did you ask the Rebbe for a bracha?” asked R’ Motti.
“Actually … no. I didn’t think of it.”
Motti laughed. “You are here, in 770, right near the Rebbe, and did not ask for a bracha? On Sunday, the Rebbe gives out dollars for tz’daka. A long line forms down the street. Stand on line patiently and when it is your turn, ask the Rebbe for a bracha for you to get the diamonds back.”
Shimi did not believe there was a chance of getting the diamonds back. The swindlers had them and he did not even have a way of reaching them. But in his despair, he agreed to take R’ Motti’s advice.
***
On Sunday, Shimi stood on line for a bracha from the Rebbe. In his heart, he whispered a prayer that a miracle would happen.
When Shimi was standing near the Rebbe, for a moment he was struck silent, but then he recovered and managed to blurt out, “Rebbe, swindlers took all my diamonds. Bless me that I get them back!”
The Rebbe looked at him lovingly and handed him a dollar and said, “B’suros tovos (good news).”
The encounter with the Rebbe took seconds but those were moments etched deep into Shimi’s heart. Motti was waiting impatiently for him outside 770. He wanted to hear what the Rebbe said. When Shimi told him, he jumped for joy. “You can be sure you will get the diamonds back. That’s not a typical blessing. Usually the Rebbe says, ‘bracha v’hatzlacha (blessing and success),’ while here, the Rebbe gave you a special bracha that you have good news to tell!”
Motti said goodbye and asked Shimi to let him know the happy end of the story.
***
Not long afterward, one afternoon, Shimi was slowly walking down the street in New York, lost in thought. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice calling him. It was a good friend of his. “Daniel, how are you? It’s good to see you,” he said.
Daniel could immediately see that something was bothering Shimi. He looked more serious than usual. “Tell me what’s going on,” he said.
Shimi told him and Daniel responded with, “You are telling just the right person. I am a detective and I work in just this field. Describe one of the swindlers to me and I will make every effort to locate him.”
Shimi remembered what one of them looked like because he was hard to miss. He was short and fat, his hair was orange and curly and he had a particularly deep voice.
“Aha … we know him well. You are not the first one to be ripped off by this clan. You can relax. I will take care of this and I believe that within a few days the diamonds will be back in your possession if they haven’t moved on further since then.”
Daniel and Shimi exchanged phone numbers and Shimi waited to hear good news.
Daniel got some of his colleagues involved and they easily found the house where the swindlers lived. For a few days they watched the house surreptitiously so as not to arouse suspicion. They wanted to see who went in and out and at what times.
The detectives left secret listening devices at the house and when they had gathered all the information they needed, and knew exactly when people came and went, they called in the police. The police cooperated and came immediately. They themselves had been waiting a long time to nab these criminals and put them behind bars.
Within seconds, the house was surrounded by policemen. The tricksters saw there was no way out. They were put in handcuffs and were taken to the police station.
The police searched the house and found a stash of valuables that had been robbed from innocent people. They brought all of it to the police station so they could return it to its owners.
The happy ending is that Shimi went to the police station and got all his diamonds back, down to the last one. He thanked the Rebbe and of course, he remembered to tell Motti that the Rebbe had gotten him his diamonds back.