During a yechidus, Rabbi Berel Weiss of Los Angeles once told the Rebbe that his son, Moshe Aharon, then aged 4, had asked his melamed for some paper so that he could make a Lubavitch Siddur.

The Rebbe replied, "He will print many seforim for Lubavitch ?"

When young Moshe Aharon grew up, his father brought a sefer to the Rebbe that had printed through his son's generosity and said that the Rebbe's prediction had been fulfilled. The Rebbe replied, "But we said 'seforim,? in the plural. ?"

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Mr. Israel Singer of the World Jewish Congress once introduced Mr. Isi Liebler of Australia to the Rebbe. He told the Rebbe that Mr. Liebler was an active member of the WJC, and it was he that put the word "Jewish" into the organization's official name.

The Rebbe remarked, "You must make sure that the "J" [in WJC] does not remain simply one letter in the acronym that could be interpreted in any way." Mr. Singer said that he accepted the Rebbe's blessing, and the Rebbe answered, "I Don't see this as a blessing but as a request ? that you should do whatever you can to make sure that it is fulfilled."

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A woman once told the Rebbe that for a long time she had many debts. The Rebbe answered, "Check your mezuzos, but primarily your daily conduct should conform with the Shulchan Aruch, and this will arouse G-d's blessings. As it is written, ?If you follow in My statutes,? all of the blessings mentioned in that parsha will be fulfilled."

The woman replied, "But I always thought that I did live according to the Shulchan Aruch."

The Rebbe then told her, "There is always room to improve on a mitzvah or in Torah study." The Rebbe also gave her an extra dollar, saying, "May your efforts be successful."

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When Mr. Ben Zion Dal, vice-director of Israel's Education Ministry, came to "dollars," the Rebbe'said to him, "I hope you won?t be offended if I make one comment. The employees at the Education Ministry should also increase in their own education. Sometimes we may miss out on something during our younger years, but here we are so soon after Pesach Sheini, where we learn that nothing is ever lost. We only need to ask for what is lacking and G-d gives us a special mitzvah and a shlichus."

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Rabbi Shlomo Cunin, head shliach in California, relates:

When we gave the Rebbe the keys to the first Chabad House in California, the Rebbe asked to which Chabad House it belonged. One of the baalebatim replied, "Rebbe, we only have one Chabad House." The Rebbe then said, "You will have many of them, stretching from the west to the east, and from the north to the south." The Rebbe added, as he gestured in an upward motion, "My hand will be on the doors of these Chabad Houses, which will be open day and night to bring men, women, and children closer to Yiddishkeit."

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The late mashpia Rabbi Avraham Maior once related:

"I was once in Boston with a world renowned mathematics professor. This was at a time when he used to visit the Rebbe fairly often. This professor, who was not a Chabad chassid, used to ask the Rebbe all sorts of questions. He said that he once asked the Rebbe, "People come to you with questions that affect the deepest parts of their lives. How can you answer questions on issues that you are not involved in at all?" The Rebbe replied, "I answer according to what comes into my thoughts at that moment."

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Rabbi A., a Rosh Kollel in Bnei Brak, relates:

When my parents had been married for twenty years, they still did not have any children. In 5707/1947, my parents were living in Paris, and one day my father heard that Rabbi Schneerson [the Rebbe, before he accepted the nesius] , the son-in-law of the Lubavitcher Rebbe [the Rebbe Rayatz], had arrived there from New York to greet his mother, who had just left Russia. When my father met Rabbi Schneerson at the Pletzel Shul, Rabbi Schneerson asked him about his family. My father burst into tears and said that he did not have any children. Rabbi Schneerson shook his hand warmly and said, "The Holy One will help you, and next Pesach you will perform the mitzvah of ?And you shall tell it to your children.?" The following year, when Seder night arrived, I was already two months old, and my father performed this mitzvah with great feeling."

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Rabbi A.Z. relates,

In 5720/1960, there was a certain Yemenite immigrant who lived in Rosh Haayin. One day, I ran into him and was very surprised to see how thin and weak he looked. He had become pale and drawn, and he was limping slightly. When I asked him what was wrong, he answered after some hesitation that he had contracted a mysterious disease in his leg. His doctors told him that he would not suffer for too long, because they would eventually amputate his foot. They recommended that this should be done to save the rest of his leg. However, if the operation, which was very complicated, did not succeed, his life would be in danger. The man decided that he did not want to put his life at risk, and he would leave everything to G-d.

I suggested that he wrote to the Rebbe for a blessing. The man did not understand what his illness had to do with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who did not know him, and he added, "Even if I wanted to write to him I couldn?t, because I can only write in Arabic." He asked me if I would write the letter for him, but I said he could write it in whichever language he could. In the end, I managed to convince him and he wrote a letter to the Rebbe.

Two months later, I saw him again, and this time he looked much better. He was also no longer limping. When he saw me, he ran to me, crying, "Thanks to you, my life was saved!" He told me that two weeks after he sent the letter to the Rebbe, he received a reply by express mail. The first lines were written in Arabic, in which the Rebbe told him to give this letter to a professor. Underneath was a prescription the Rebbe had written out in Latin characters. The surprised professor remarked that he had never heard of this type of treatment, but agreed to try it. "And here are the results," said my friend, with a broad smile on his face.

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In the summer of 5750, Rabbi Y. M. Gutman told the following story:

On a Sunday several weeks ago, I received a telephone call from a female relative living in Israel. During the conversation, she asked me to go to dollars and ask the Rebbe for a blessing because she had been diagnosed with several malignant tumors. Even though I was rather nervous to go to the Rebbe, I went anyway. I asked the Rebbe for the following blessing:

"Rebbe, a member of my family living in Israel was examined, and several malignant tumors were discovered. I would like to ask the Rebbe's blessing that the illness should go into a non-Jew!"

The Rebbe replied, "But why to another person? She should go to the sea, and ?cast all of your transgressions into the depths of the sea.? May she have blessing, success, and health."

I immediately called my relative and told her exactly what the Rebbe'said. I was very exact in what the Rebbe'said, and I suggested that she went to the sea and recited Tashlich. Because she had faith in the Rebbe's blessing, my relative did as she had been told.

Sure enough, the next time I spoke to her, my relative had some very good news. After several examinations, no tumors were found. They had simply disappeared, apparently cast into the depths!

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The following story was told by Mr. K., a retired police captain who used to live in the center of Israel and sent his son to a Chabad school near his home. When Mr. K's son was in third grade, his mother developed a serious disease in her leg. When the child mentioned this in class, his teacher suggested that he write to the Rebbe. In reply, the Rebbe'sent a blessing for a speedy, complete recovery, and sure enough, Mrs. K's leg healed totally.

Several years went by, and the K. family moved to another city. A while later, Mr. K. flew to America for a police training exercise. While he was there, Mr. K. requested a yechidus with the Rebbe. When he went into the Rebbe's room, he gave the Rebbe a note with the names of the members of his family as is customary. The Rebbe read the note carefully and then asked Mr. K., "How is your wife's leg?" At first, Mr. K. did not understand what the Rebbe was referring to, until the Rebbe reminded him that ten years previously his son had written in for a bracha for his mother's leg.

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Rabbi Y. Shifrin of Bnei Brak relates:

When I was visiting New York In 5750/1990, I passed before the Rebbe during dollars on a Sunday morning. When the Rebbe gave me a dollar for tzedakah, I asked him for a bracha for a book that I was about to publish. The Rebbe gave me another dollar, saying, "For tzedakah in her merit; recovery will be soon." Before I was able to say anything, the line had moved on. I decided that what it probably meant was that the Rebbe did not hear me properly and thought that I had asked for a blessing for someone who was ill.

Not long afterwards, when I arrived back at where I was staying in Boro Park, I received a message to call home urgently. One of my daughters tearfully informed me that my wife was in the hospital. Our youngest daughter, who was about to have a baby, had suddenly lost consciousness. She was taken to the hospital, where the doctors described her condition as "critical."

In the confusion that followed, I suddenly remembered what the Rebbe had told me only a very short time before ? to give tzedakah in her merit and that she would soon recover. I told my other daughter about this, and said that she should let everyone know that I was sure that everything would work out for the best. Needless to say, I immediately gave money to tzedakah in my daughter's merit.

I stayed in contact with my family throughout the day, and later that evening my wife was delighted to tell me that everything was fine, and to the doctors? surprise our daughter had recovered.

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Check Your Doors Rabbi Yoel Kahn relates:

A participant in our Tanya shiur told me the following story, which involved his brother-in-law, a Torah scholar who was not a member of the Chabad community. When he needed a blessing for a particular complaint or illness, he was advised to write to the Rebbe.

The young man received a letter in reply telling him to check his mezuzos. He discovered that four of his mezuzos were possul, and he immediately exchanged them for kosher ones. In gratitude, he sent a letter to the Rebbe thanking him for telling him to check his mezuzos.

A short while later, he received a telephone call from the Rebbe's secretariat informing him that the Rebbe had written on the bottom of his note, "I am surprised that he only checked the mezuzos but not the doors." When the young man checked again, he found that one door did not have a mezuzah on it at all.

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Mrs. Esther Klein of Monsey, NY, relates:

We had been married for many years, but we did not yet have any children. During Tishrei, 5749, my mother was in the hospital, and when we visited her we met a Chabad woman who was in one of the nearby beds.

We became quite friendly with her, and when she heard that we were childless she suggested that we went to the Rebbe to ask for a bracha. She told us a lot of stories about the Rebbe, and said that the Rebbe gave out dollars every Sunday, which would be an ideal opportunity to ask for a bracha.

I was very moved by her words, and on Sunday after Simchas Torah I traveled to New York, where I waited several hours on line. When I stood before the Rebbe, I got very emotional, and I could hardly stammer the word "Kinder!" [children]. The Rebbe gave me an extra dollar, and added, "For the bris." Nine months and eight days later, we made a bris for our newborn baby son ?

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Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Levin, shliach in Palo Alto, relates,

One of the baalei batim in California once asked me to get a bracha from the Rebbe for his mother, who needed to undergo open-heart surgery. I called the Rebbe's secretariat and passed on the request. The actual operation went well, but when the respirator was switched off the patient underwent a crisis and stopped breathing for several minutes. Breathing was restored, fortunately, and the woman's condition was stabilized.

Around a week later, I visited the patient, and I brought her a booklet that had a picture of the Rebbe inside. When she opened the booklet and saw the picture, she became very excited. "That's the man! That's the man!" she cried. Everyone wondered why she was getting excited.

When the woman calmed down, she explained the reason for her excitement. "After the operation, when they removed the oxygen mask, I stopped breathing and I felt as if I was about to die. Suddenly I saw an old man in front of me who said, ?Breathe, breathe. You will get better and stay alive.? I started breathing, and I felt better. The man in the picture is the person who told me to breathe."

Needless to say, until this point, the patient had neither seen nor heard of the Rebbe before.

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Yechezkel Levi of Paris was one of thousands of Jews who waited on line for dollars on Sunday, 19th Ellul, 5750. It was not the first time that he had seen the Rebbe, as he would always attend "dollars" whenever he was in New York. This time, after he had received one dollar bill from the Rebbe, he asked for another one for the rest of his family. The Rebbe gave him a dollar and then handed him another one, saying, "This is for the father." Yechezkel then remembered that his father's birthday was that week.

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Rabbi Avraham Ehrenberg relates:

During Shevat, 5737/1977, I developed a medical problem in my left leg, which caused me a lot of pain. Although I went to various doctors who prescribed a selection of drugs, my condition only got worse every day. In the end, a specialist at the Beilinson Hospital examined me, and he came to the conclusion that my leg needed to be amputated. I knew that this was very dangerous, and I sent a letter to the Rebbe describing my situation.

Three weeks later, I received an answer from the Rebbe that instructed me to have my tefillin and mezuzos checked. I immediately gave my mezuzos and tefillin to Rabbi Sh. Sh., a famous scribe in Bnei Brak, and he did not find anything wrong with them. As he had asked me to remove the parchments from the batim and then put them back myself, I went to another scribe to have the parchments replaced. The second scribe looked at the loose parchments and asked me why they were in that state. I explained what had happened, and about the Rebbe's instructions to have my mezuzos and tefillin checked.

The second scribe looked over the parchments very carefully, and he suddenly said, "Look! I?ve found a very definite defect here. There's a small hole in the final chof in the words "uvalechtecha vaderech" [and when you walk along the way]. This hole can be fixed, but at the moment the tefillin are passul."

While the parshiyos were being fixed, I suddenly realized: there must be a definite connection between the strong pains in my legs and the defect that was in the tefillin. And it was certainly hashgacha pratis that the tefillin had to be brought to a second sofer, who was the one who found the defect.

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The wife of Jackie Habbi, a successful businessman from Holon living in Los Angeles, once felt unwell, and the doctors suggested a certain procedure. After the treatment, the couple discovered that Mrs. Habbi was expecting a baby, but as a result of the procedure there was no chance that the fetus would live.

On the advice of local shliach Rabbi Amitai Yemini, the couple wrote to the Rebbe about the situation. The Rebbe replied, "she will give birth properly," and sure enough the couple had a healthy baby.

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A Jew and his daughter once stood on line for the distribution of dollars on a Sunday morning. With great emotion, the father told the Rebbe that his daughter had recently suffered a very serious medical problem, and her condition was so grave that the doctors defined her as a "vegetable." However, her life was saved and she had completely recovered in the merit of the Rebbe's bracha. Now he was happy to bring his daughter to the Rebbe in person.

"The doctors were so amazed, and they can?t think of any logical explanation for what happened," the father concluded. The Rebbe'simply replied, "And what do you need a doctor's explanation for?"

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A Jew living in Jerusalem who had a particularly cheerful personality once decided to buy new tefillin. As soon as he started using the new tefillin, his mood changed and he started to become very depressed. His brother was very worried by this sudden change, and he told him to write to the Rebbe for a bracha. At first, he refused to do so because he thought that the Rebbe would tell him to check the tefillin, and he thought that this was probably not necessary as he had only just purchased them from a very yireh shomayim sofer.

In the end, however, the man listened to his brother's suggestion and did send a letter to the Rebbe. He soon received an answer telling him that he should get his tefillin checked. In spite of the sofer's warnings that checking new tefillin could damage them, the man insisted that they should be examined. When the sofer opened the parshiyos shel rosh, he discovered that instead of the word "esev" ? meaning "grass," the word "etzev," sad, was written there. The error was soon fixed, and the man's sadness was soon dispelled.

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A maggid shiur at a Chabad yeshiva once received a request from a friend to mention his name to the Rebbe for a refuah shleimah when passing by for kos shel bracha. The maggid shiur agreed to do so, but when his turn came, he was so emotional that he did not manage to say anything. As the Rebbe poured some wine into his cup, he looked at the maggid shiur with a penetrating gaze before saying "lechaim," and adding, "a refuah shleimah!"

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