The story took place in the summer of 2019 in Bat Yam, Israel. One of the regulars at the Chabad synagogue related that his father would often go out on Friday to put tefillin on the passers-by before Shabbos. One time, an elderly man who had agreed to put on tefilin, pointing to the Moshiach flag in the lapel, exclaimed - “You must be a Chabadnik! In that case I’m going to tell you something that I haven’t told anyone here, until now.I was one of the accompanying officers at the famousmeeting the Rebbe had with the “distinguished ones” (a group of soldiers wounded in the Yom Kippur War). This took place at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn in 1976.
We received a big welcome and afterwards the officers were honored to speak with the Rebbe privately. The Rebbe was very friendly and answered our questions.
When my turn came, I asked about something which was worrying me. “What will be with the State of Israel?” The tense situation in the wake of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the shattered economy, weighed heavily on my mind.
The Rebbe looked at me and said the following words:
Chaim Herzog (the sixth President of Israel) in an interview to Kfar Chabad magazine, told a very telling story. In the mid-70's in Hebron there was a certain "incident of military significance" in which the Israeli Army reacted very vigorously. Arab states, of course, demanded discussion of the incident in the UN Security Council which was to take place after Simchat Torah.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe in the 80's and early 90's would stand for hours on end distributing blessings and single dollars bills to thousands. This would usually take place on Sundays right outside the Rebbe's office at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY. Recently, some yeshiva students have brought back this practice and, just like the Rebbe used to do, they distribute dollar bills to whoever shows up on any given Sunday at the same spot in 770. However one may feel about this, the following story is somewhat unusual.
An engaged couple had a private audience (yechidus) with the Rebbe. In the course of the audience, the bride got emotional and motioned to her groom to leave. She then proceeded to tell the Rebbe that she was scared to get married as she had a terrible temper which she felt would ruin her upcoming marriage and she did not want to get divorced. Rebbe spoke soothingly to her by saying that she would have many children and that would have a calming effect. The couple proceeded with their wedding plans and over the years they had fifteen children.
This event took place during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. A group of Israeli officers was leaving their bunker as the Egyptians were closing in. On his way out, one officer took off the mezuzah on the bunker's door. Some time later, after the war, this officer, as part of a group, was visiting New York and an audience with the Rebbe
Some time in the early 1940's, ten Lubavitch yeshiva bochurim (students) received draft notices. As they were going into the train station, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe was seen at his window peering out and saying something. When they got to the draft board, the bochurim were met by two physicians, one Jewish, the other one not. Nine of the ten were examined by the Jewish doctor and were dismissed from the draft. When it was the turn of the tenth one ( who was, incidentally, the only clean-shaven one in the group), the Jewish doctor suddenly decided to take his lunch break and told the bochur that his Gentile partner would see him. The other nine bochurim decided to head back, leaving their buddy behind to await his turn. (When they got back, the Rebbe asked what happened to the other bochur, when he heard their response, he went back to the window and continued to say something.) Just then, a group of previous appointees showed up and were ushered into the non-Jewish doctor while the bochur had to wait them out. By the time they were done, the Jewish doctor came back from lunch, examined the bochur and sent him home.
A Satmar woman living in Brooklyn was having medical problems and the prognosis was bleak. A friend suggested that on a Sunday she go for dollars from the Lubavitcher Rebbe to receive a blessing. The woman was initially uncomfortable with the idea but eventually decided to do it. Before going, she had persuaded another Satmar woman to accompany her. As the ladies passed in front of the Rebbe, the first one told the Rebbe about her problem, the Rebbe vigorously motioned
