My Moment With the Rebbe

I shared this at the end of my daughter's Bas Mitzvah.  

I want to close the evening with a story that happened to me 22 years ago.  

When I was 10 years old, I went with my parents to visit the Lubavitcher Rebbe in honor of my brother Ariel’s Bar Mitzvah.  

The Rebbe held a gathering for all Bar and Bas Mitzvah boys and girls and their families.  

At the end of the Rebbe’s talk, we lined up to receive a dollar from the Rebbe, one at a time.  

When it was my turn, the Rebbe asked me two words: “Bas Mitzvah?” 

I can still see the Rebbe’s deep blue eyes looking straight at me.  

I was frozen to my spot; I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak. 

I wasn't nervous because the Rebbe could see me on the outside.

I was overwhelmed because I knew that he saw the depths of my soul.

Yet I knew I needed to answer the Rebbe… I found the courage to softly shake my head to signal that no – I was not yet Bas Mitzvah.  

Then my mother, standing right behind me, voiced the answer “od loh” – not yet… 

The Rebbe smiled and we moved on.  

I was very confused and excited. 

Confused because I did not know why the Rebbe asked me if I was Bas Mitzvah. Yet I felt so special – because the Rebbe thought I was already Bas Mitzvah but I wasn’t yet… And I was excited that I had an extra moment with the Rebbe than I expected to have… 

I think only when Moshiach comes, will I know what that exchange was all about for sure.  

But over time it has meant different things to me. 

When I turned Bas Mitzvah, I was actually not able to receive a dollar from the Rebbe; it was already after the Rebbe suffered his stroke and was unable to meet with Bar and Bas Mitzvah girls and boys anymore. 

Perhaps the Rebbe was giving me my blessing back then, in advance?  

Perhaps the Rebbe was telling me that I can always strive for higher…even if I am 10, I can move towards what a Bas Mitzvah girl is able to do… 

And tonight it has taken on yet another meaning: My daughter is Bas Mitzvah. The Rebbe surely knows, for the Rebbe is here. And I just beg Hashem, that my daughter Yehudis Yaffa be able to receive a dollar from the Rebbe’s holy hand tonight…with the coming of Moshiach…

My mother and I recieving a dollar from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. 

Click on the image to see a short video clip of the Rebbe speaking to my mother and I...