It was early in the year 1992, just one day before the Lubavitcher Rebbe was to suffer a debilitating stroke. Thousands of people were standing in line to receive the Rebbe's blessing and a dollar (to encourage the giving of charity).
Rabbi Yosef-Yitzchak Pevzner was also in that line with some twenty of his donors waiting to give the Rebbe the keys to the huge multi-million-dollar campus that he had just completed in Paris, France.
Three years earlier, in 1989, the Rebbe publicly declared that year to be Shanat HaBinyan - 'the Year of Building.' Immediately hundreds of Chabad institutions throughout the world began building. But very few, if any, were on as large a scale as Rabbi Pevzner's.
Rabbi Pevzner decided to build a campus of buildings in addition to the older school and dorm buildings he already had. He asked for the Rebbe's blessing, received it, and weeks later had tens of wealthy donors interested in his dream. Now he could accept many more pupils as well.
The project was immense. Almost more than Rabbi Pevzner had bargained for. There were many crises and difficulties and the Rebbe had to be consulted (he gave large donations as well as answers) countless times.
And after three years of working day and night with almost no rest, it was finished. A miracle!
Now the line progressed and finally their turn came. They were standing before the Rebbe! They were all beaming with joy as Rabbi Pevzner stepped forward, handed the Rebbe the cluster of keys to all the buildings and proudly announced,
"Rebbe, thank G-d, the campus is finished. It took us three very difficult years. If it wasn’t for the Rebbe's blessings and advice we could not have done it. But now, with G-d's help, it is finished, and here are the keys."
The Rebbe took the keys and, with a smiling face said, "Begin immediately to build a new building."
They all were astounded! After three years of constant work, they thought they had done enough. But the Rebbe was never wrong.
He gave to each of them a dollar (in addition to the hundred dollars he had sent earlier to all the big donors), blessed them all with success and a good trip back, and they returned to France.
But they were completely confused. If they hadn't been acquainted with the Rebbe's greatness and seemingly infinite knowledge of both Torah and secular matters, they wouldn't have taken what he said seriously.
What did they need another building for? The plan was to move the students into the new buildings and the empty old buildings could be used if many more pupils came, which was highly unlikely. The new buildings were more than enough!
But even more unlikely were the chances of getting more land from the city - in fact it was virtually impossible. The land they acquired was already a miracle.
But Rabbi Pevzner, as a 'shliach' (emissary) of the Rebbe, didn't think in normal terms anymore; he was used to miracles.
He went to city hall, and immediately was able to get an audience with the Minister of Housing. As soon as he entered his office, he got straight to the point; he needed more land to build another, even larger building.
He expected a reply like, "More land! Why Rabbi, you haven't even begun using what you have. Or, 'Maybe you would like me to give you all of Paris'?"
But instead, the minister stood and cordially requested that Rabbi Pevzner take him for a tour of the new campus that he had just finished building.
Arrangements were made, and shortly afterwards the Rabbi was able to spend significant time showing and explaining to him the various buildings. Eventually, while they were walking, he stirred up his courage and asked the minister if he was a religious man.
The minister said ‘yes,’ whereupon Rabbi Pevzner began to tell him about the Lubavitcher Rebbe, ending with the words, "The Rebbe wants us to build a new building. That is, an additional new building. And the Rebbe has never been wrong."
The minister stopped suddenly. He faced Rabbi Pevzner, looked at him very seriously and said, "I have heard of your Rebbe and I understood that he is a very wise man. But now I know that he is also a prophet!"
Rabbi Pevzner was surprised. Perhaps the minister was being sarcastic? But then the man continued.
"Rabbi, you must not tell anyone what I am about to tell you now. The mayor is going to take all your old buildings. You will be left only with these new ones. He is just waiting till after the elections because he doesn't want to make enemies, but it has already been decided. Your old school buildings are to be destroyed, and the land will be taken from you and converted into a new shopping mall. And then it will be impossible for you to get new land or accept more students.
"There is no way that your Rebbe could have known this. It is sheer prophesy! Rabbi, as I said, I am a religious man and know a miracle when I see it. You come tomorrow to my office and I will give you the land you request, and then you must build as much as possible and as soon as possible. Before the elections."
In the end, the miracle came in a different way.
The mayor lost the elections and it seemed a miracle wasn't necessary. Until, just a few days afterwards a fire broke out and destroyed the old buildings totally!
But with the new additional building Rabbi Pevzner built at the request of the Rebbe, he was able to accept more students and a short time it too was overflowing with new pupils that seemed to have come from nowhere!!
The Rebbe foresaw all this over two years before it happened!
Source: Expanded by Yerachmiel Tilles from the free translation and adaptation by Rabbi Tuvia Bolton from the weekly Hebrew pamphlet, HaGeula (#253 – 2004).
Connection
True vs false prophecy is discussed in this week’s Torah reading, Shoftim (Deut. 18:15-21)
Biographical note
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe (11 Nissan 1902 - 3 Tammuz 1994), became the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad dynasty after his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, passed away in Brooklyn on 10 Shvat 1950. He is widely acknowledged as the greatest Jewish leader of the second half of the 20th century. Although a dominant scholar in both the revealed and hidden aspects of Torah and fluent in many languages and scientific subjects, the Rebbe is best known for his extraordinary love and concern for every Jew on the planet. His emissaries around the globe dedicated to strengthening Judaism number in the thousands. Many hundreds of volumes of his teachings have been printed, and hundreds of English renditions too.
