An American Jew, before immigrating to Israel, went one Sunday to 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, to receive a blessing from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Rebbe blessed him and handed him two dollars, saying, "One for you, the second for the taxi driver."
The man was somewhat puzzled by the second dollar and the Rebbe's instruction. He saved both dollars in his wallet, and when he arrived in Israel with his family, he thought about giving the dollar to the taxi driver who drove them from the airport to the Absorption Center, where they would stay until they found their own place. However, for various reasons, the man felt this was not the driver the Rebbe had in mind.
There were many other taxis over the years of course, but none of the drivers seemed to fit the bill. And so, the dollar remained in his wallet. For twenty years!
One day, not too long ago, our now "veteran" immigrant was riding in a taxi in the Tel Aviv area. He saw that the driver did not wear a skullcap, but had a book of Psalms near his seat and had pasted on the gear stick a picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
They started talking. The driver told him that in recent months he had decided to try and strengthen himself to be more in harmony with his Jewish roots, and as a result, he was now studying Torah regularly at the Chabad Center in his neighborhood.
"Finally!" the man thought excitedly to himself, suddenly recalling the "mission" the Rebbe had delegated to him. He took out his wallet from his pocket and said to the driver, "Here; take this, please. It is a dollar the Rebbe told me to give to 'the taxi driver'."
The driver stamped on the brakes! The cab suddenly swerved sideways, fortunately stopping safely at the side of the road.
The driver turned to the startled passenger and said excitedly: "Do you know what you did? Since I started my return to Torah and mitzvot, it has been difficult for me at home. My wife is not agreeable at all.
"Today she challenged me again. 'What are all these ridiculous beliefs you've adopted? For example, you actually think it makes sense for the Rebbe to send you a dollar for a blessing? The Rebbe is gone! Let's see him send you a dollar today!'"
The passenger now understood what was the Rebbe's intention by "the taxi driver," twenty years earlier.
Source: AscentofSafed.com
