The Alma family lived in Ramat Gan, Israel, for many years, where they happily raised their four daughters.
Mrs. Flora Alma very strongly wanted to have a son as well. By the time she was forty, she had already accumulated many prayers and blessings from rabbis, but with no results. The much-desired son did not arrive. The Almas had reached the point of making peace with the situation, that apparently it was not G-d's plan that they should have a boy.
During this time, Flora began to attend a regular evening lecture offered by Mrs. Z., a Chabad rebbetzin in her community. The attendees greatly enjoyed her presentation of chassidic concepts as well as the stories of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's miracles that she would relate.
At the time Chabad was the only religious organization that offered regular activities in the area. The oldest daughter of the Alma family was also influenced by the spirit of Chabad that began to pervade their home, and on her own initiative she would invite local children for a "mesibat Shabbat," a Shabbos party, in a nearby neighborhood. The children would study Torah passages, listen to stories of tzaddikim as well as play various games.
Mrs. Z. had a practice that once every few weeks, she would record the names of all the attendees of her lectures and send the list to the Lubavitcher Rebbe for his blessing. One week, Flora gathered her courage and alongside her name and her mother's name, she wrote two requests: that she should move to a better apartment, and that she should be blessed with a son.
It was a long shot, she knew, but Flora figured it was worth a try.
Mrs. Z. explained to Flora that as soon as one writes to the Rebbe, it is as if the letter was already received and the Rebbe grants his blessing. Flora very quickly found out the truth of that statement...
Shortly afterwards Flora received the shock of her life. During a routine medical exam, Flora found out the news that she was expecting a child. Her youngest daughter was already nine years old, and suddenly this surprise!
At one of her prenatal visits, Flora confided in the doctor that she was sure this child would be a boy. With a skeptical smile, the doctor asked how she was so certain. Flora explained simply that she had conceived this child in merit of the Rebbe, in response to her request for a son. "I am sure that this baby is a boy."
Nine months later, her son was born, who was named Eliyahu. The most amazing part of the story was that on the day of the brit, the Alma family received a letter from the Rebbe with a response to her request of nine months earlier, a blessing for a male child.
Over twenty years passed since the birth of Eliyahu, when he himself found his spouse in merit of the Rebbe's blessing. It was after several years of searching, during which Eliyahu hoped to start a family of his own but was not successful in meeting the right person.
A year ago, Eliyahu joined the multitudes who would travel to Meron on the 33rd day of the Omer, to pray at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. As he made his way up the hill, he noticed that a group of Chabad chassidim had set up a stand and were offering passersby the opportunity to write to the Rebbe and receive his blessing via "Igrot Kodesh," the Rebbe's published letters.
It was often discussed in the Alma home that Eliyahu's birth was a direct result of the Rebbe's blessing. His parents, in the meantime, had moved to Petach Tikvah, where they maintained a close relationship with Chabad. “If I was born in merit of the Rebbe's blessing,” thought Eliyahu to himself, “why not ask for a blessing to find a suitable match?”
Eliyahu approached the Igrot Kodesh stand and was directed in composing a letter to the Rebbe. In his letter he mentioned that he had been born in merit of the Rebbe's blessing, and he also summarized his tribulations of the past few years, trying to find his intended bride. He concluded with a request for the Rebbe's help and blessing in the matter.
Four months later, Eliyahu was engaged.
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