NEW LIFE WRAPPED IN TZITZIS

 “The hour was late, and since I didn’t want to wake up my Chabad friends, I opened up a Chitas. I recalled once that when I previously opened this seifer I saw that there were pages of ‘Igeres HaKodesh.’ I made no distinction between the ‘Igeres HaKodesh’ in Tanya and the Rebbe’s ‘Igros Kodesh.’ After I washed my hands and made a good resolution, I requested a bracha…” An amazing story of a twofold life-saving, and an answer from the Rebbe MH”M via a special letter from the Alter Rebbe.
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

“At first, I considered keeping this story within the family. However, when you came to us and I consulted with my husband, he expressed his belief that by publicizing the story, we could strengthen other Jews and bring them closer to their Creator by showing that there are revealed miracles in this world. It was for this reason that I agreed to tell this story,” said Mrs. Shira Yitzchak from the settlement of Bat Ayin. Together with her gifted musician husband, Amit Yitzchak, they experienced an amazing miracle with their daughter last year. This revealed and exhilarating episode serves as a constant source of joy and heartfelt thanks to Alm-ghty G-d.

Their unique story is an incredible assortment of fascinating Divine Providences, climaxed by a reply from the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach via, of all things, the “Igeres HaKodesh” of the Alter Rebbe in Tanya.

Mrs. Yitzchak’s voice filled with deep emotion as she was overcome by the memories of that experience. Although a year has passed and she and her husband have already retold their story on numerous occasions, nevertheless, every morning when they look at their daughter, Ma’ayan Rivka, she knows that the child’s life was saved by a miracle. “Since this story, my husband has never gone without wearing tzitzis. He knows that our daughter’s health depends upon the tzitzis,” Mrs. Shira Yitzchak said as her eyes glistened with tears.

MY HUSBAND RESOLVED TO WEAR TZITZIS, AND THE PULSE RETURNED

“The story actually began when I was expecting my daughter, Ma’ayan Rivka. The pregnancy was normal and progressed quite smoothly. However, when the ninth month passed, I was requested to come to the clinic to undergo some routine tests. From there, the doctor sent me urgently to the hospital. The diagnosis was that the fetus was in dangerous distress, making it necessary to induce labor as soon as possible. We wasted no valuable time, and in a matter of a few minutes, I found myself in the delivery room at ‘Shaarei Tzedek’ Medical Center in Yerushalayim.

“The medical staff there did an examination and calmed me down. Everything appeared in order and the doctors decided that I should return home. They added that unless there were any unusual developments, I should come back for delivery when the time came. All this took place on a Friday. In the wee hours of Shabbos morning, I felt that something wasn’t right and we made our way back to the maternity ward, where I was immediately admitted. At first, there was a concern that there was a serious problem. The fear was great and my eyes flooded with tears. My husband, then in the midst of his own spiritual journey to the path of Torah, immediately resolved to wear tzitzis every day throughout the day. As soon as he made his resolution, the doctors detected a normal pulse. Everyone was amazed.

“I was brought into the delivery room and the birth process went easily and without complications. On the 29^th of Tammuz, Erev Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av, our wonderful little girl was born and she brought such light into our home.

“Two months passed, and since my husband is a professional guitarist, he constantly complained that the tzitzis bothered him as he played. He considered removing the tzitzis at least during his performances and subsequently went to our rav to ask about this matter. However, when the rav heard under what circumstances my husband had made his resolution, he made a passionate case for the great spiritual value of tzitzis for protecting him – and our daughter. From that moment on, my husband has been unwavering in keeping his resolution and not removing the tzitzis from his body. My husband is a gifted musician who plays the compositions of well-known performers, and he sometimes returns home with his tzitzis soaked in sweat.”

“I RESOLVED TO WEAR TZITZIS. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?”

Another two and a half months passed, and the guitarist Amit Yitzchak was invited to play at a N’shei Chabad event at the International Convention Center (Binyanei HaUma) in Yerushalayim on the night of Yud-Tes Kislev. “My husband often plays at Chabad events, and he always speaks with great admiration for the Rebbe and the Chassidic content he has learned about. Although my husband is not a Chabad chassid, our home shows much appreciation for the Rebbe and the teachings of Chabad. On that evening, he returned home particularly happy. He spoke about the greatness of the Baal HaTanya and shared a statement with me he heard that night that I will never forget. He said that someone had declared that whoever rejoices in the simcha of the Alter Rebbe – the Redemption of Yud-Tes Kislev – will merit to be joyful for his whole life.

“It was already very late and we went to bed after putting our infant daughter, Ma’ayan Rivka, to sleep in her crib. I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night after having a nightmare. I had a terrible feeling that there was something wrong with the baby. I took her out of her crib and immediately noticed that she was leaning forward and totally unresponsive. I tried to wake her, moving her head from side to side, but to my great shock, she showed no signs of life. I became hysterical and screamed that the baby had passed away.

“My husband woke up in a state of panic. He took our daughter and ran with her into the hallway as he gently shook her and tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The lights of the house were on and everything was in turmoil. Suddenly, I heard my husband crying out to G-d, ‘But I resolved to wear tzitzis. Why is this happening?’ A few moments later, he came back into the room, and when I looked at the baby, color was coming back into her cheeks and she started breathing again.

“Within a few minutes, the child had been restored to normal, was breathing on her own and had opened her eyes. However, none of us was able to go back to sleep that night.”

THE REBBE’S BRACHA – IN TANYA’S IGGERES HA’KODESH

“The following morning, after it became clear that our daughter was completely healthy, I came back home feeling like a small boat having passed through a stormy night at sea. What did G-d want from us? I felt that we had just experienced a form of T’chiyas HaMeisim. My mind was a jumble of thoughts: What would have happened to the child if I hadn’t woken up in the middle of the night? Why was G-d giving us such a trial? And how did we merit such a Heavenly-inspired miracle?

“I paced around our house like a caged lion, unable to compose myself. Should I be happy about this miracle? Or perhaps we should expect yet another unnerving experience? I couldn’t keep my thoughts in order.

“When evening came and we had already put the children to bed, I went into my room and burst into uncontrollable sobs. The tears flowed like water; it was a kind of emotional release from the powerful experience we had the previous night. When I calmed down a little from my raging emotions, I decided to write to the Lubavitcher Rebbe in ‘Igros Kodesh’ and ask for his advice. This is something that we had done in the past on numerous occasions, and we were amazed by the precise answers.

“The hour was late, and since I didn’t want to wake up my Chabad friends, I decided to ask for a bracha through a Chitas. I recalled once that when I previously opened this seifer, I saw that there were pages of ‘Igeres HaKodesh.’ I made no distinction between the ‘Igeres HaKodesh’ in Tanya and the Rebbe’s ‘Igros Kodesh.’ After I washed my hands and made a good resolution, I requested a bracha from the Rebbe.

“The answer that the Rebbe sent me via the Chitas was in Tanya, Igeres HaKodesh, pg. 112a: Though this manifestation through the occupation with Torah and the commandments is, generally, equal in every one of Israel [for we all have one Torah and one law], nevertheless, in a more specific way, not all souls (nefesh) or spirits (ruach) and souls (neshama) are equal in this regard, depending on the occurrence and time of their reincarnation and their coming into this world; and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: ‘With what was your father more heedful? He answered him — with the Tzitzis…’ Likewise, not all generations are the same. For just as with the organs of man, every organ has its own, special and particular function [the eye to see and the ear to hear], so too, through every commandment there radiates a special and particular light from the light of the blessed En Sof. And though every soul of Israel needs to be reincarnated in order to fulfill all the 613 commandments, even so, this special care with a particular Mitzvah is necessary only for the sake of an increase, and prudence, and additional zeal — with exceeding uplifting and strength, doubly and manifold, surpassing the zeal for the other commandments.

“As I read the page I had opened, my voice choked with tears. This time, however, I was shedding tears of joy and happiness. The Alter Rebbe explains that while every Jew has to observe and fulfill all the mitzvos, not all souls are the same. There are those who are more stringent and careful about a certain mitzvah, and the Baal HaTanya brings the mitzvah of tzitzis as an example.

“The sentence that jumped out and still jumps at me, never leaving me since: And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: ‘With what was your father more heedful? He answered him — with the Tzitzis….’

“I realized that my husband’s good resolution to wear tzitzis wasn’t for naught. In the merit of the tzitzis, our daughter was saved at birth and then her life was saved again on the night of Yud-Tes Kislev.”

*

The Yitzchak family was privileged to experience an amazing miracle, the details of which became clearer through an answer they received in the Tanya.

“The tremendous excitement that gripped me during those moments has lasted to this very day. We saw with our own eyes how the Creator runs the world, along with the greatness of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the founder of the Chabad dynasty – the Baal HaTanya. On that same day, I decided to travel with my daughter to the holy gravesite of the Alter Rebbe in Haditch to offer our thanks. Indeed, a month later, on Chaf-Dalet Teves, the yahrzeit of the Alter Rebbe, when our daughter was five months old, we traveled to Haditch to commemorate the event. We spent the entire day at the Ohel.”