Our second son had been of marriageable age for several years. Yet, he was not having much success finding a suitable partner for marriage. Months turned into years, and nothing seemed to help. Naturally, this caused him much anguish.

At a certain point our worrying began to gnaw away at us. Our son was now 29 years old with no serious prospect on the horizon. When a Jew finds himself in a predicament, he starts to pray, and that’s exactly what we did. At every opportunity we prayed for a blessing to find the woman with whom he could build a Jewish home. Whenever we visited one of the gravesites of our holy tzaddikim, we poured out our souls to the Creator, asking that we should soon merit to see our son under the marriage canopy with his bride.

The joyous day of Lag B’Omer had arrived, the day that commemorates the passing of the author of the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. In our neighborhood, there are some very dedicated Chabad rabbis who organize each year a grandiose parade that attracts hundreds and thousands of children from the community. This is a once-a-year event that hundreds of parents and children know they can’t pass up. There are many people who have moved away from the neighborhood, yet they come back on this day for Chabad activities.

We have lived in Safed for many years and we know that these parades are held each year in every local neighborhood. Yet, while I always sent my children to the parade, I personally had never participated, preferring to remain home instead. This all changed last year, when my children learning in Chabad institutions would not relent; they insisted that I join them for the parade.

The production was most impressive. Jews from all walks of life joined together and joyfully danced around the traditional bonfire. This was followed by a colorful parade filled with signs bearing Jewish slogans. From the very outset I was quite happy that I had chosen to attend the event, beating my chest for not having done so until now.

During the parade, the master of ceremonies and various speakers spoke about the great holiness of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, quoting the Rebbe’s words that it would be most befitting to rely upon Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in a moment of crisis. Meanwhile, I was praying with all my heart that my participation in the parade would come to my son’s aid in his search for a marriage partner.

At the start of the parade, every participant received a raffle ticket. There was a large selection of prizes and the organizers took both children and adults into account. On one side, there was a bicycle and children’s games, while on the other side, there were Jewish books and even a dollar received from the Rebbe himself.

The truth is that while I was holding the ticket in my hand, it never crossed my mind that I would win anything. Thus, I was totally surprised when the master of ceremonies announced the number of the winning ticket for the Rebbe’s dollar. A quick look at my ticket showed that indeed, I had won the raffle… I was overcome with joy.

As I was walking back home with my daughters, I noticed some handwriting on the dollar – the words ‘brachah v’hatzlachah,’ blessing and success, in large print. There was also another handwritten line in much smaller print, but I didn’t attribute much importance to it and didn’t read it.

We naturally mounted the dollar in an honored place in our home, and it brought the blessing – rather quickly. A few weeks later, our son became engaged and we were overjoyed. When someone asked how it all happened, we told them that we were certain that the blessing had come in the merit of our participation in the Lag B’Omer parade. However, we also didn’t know how to explain it; we just felt it deep inside.

After the engagement party was over, the two sets of parents sat with the engaged couple to set a date for the wedding – the 13^th of Elul. There were a lot of things to prepare and arrange. Buying clothes, renting a hall, hiring a caterer, a photographer, etc. It’s amazing how all the feelings of worry and concern were replaced in an instant with feelings of joy and happiness.

One evening, after our son came home at the end of a tiring day of making pre-wedding arrangements and running errands, he suddenly decided to take a look at the Rebbe’s dollar. He studied it carefully, and then he let out a shriek. “Ima, you have to come here!” he cried. “Now, read what’s written in the small print on the dollar.” I read it and I couldn’t believe what I saw.

There it was written: the 13^th of Elul, the wedding of the Rebbe Rayatz, 5749, eve of the Shnas Nissim (year of miracles). I read this sentence again and again. I was positively stunned. What incredible Divine Providence! It took me several hours to calm down. When I tell people about the chain of events, they can’t believe it until they see for themselves what’s written on the dollar.

There’s no logical explanation for this. At the moment the Rebbe gave the dollar to that chassid back in 5749 [1989], he clearly foresaw with his holy eyes where the dollar would end up and the date of our son’s wedding.

We also have another amazing story that happened with the Rebbe.Twenty-five years ago, one of our sons was diagnosed with thalassemia – a serious blood disorder that could only be cured with a bone marrow transplant. My father was staying in New York at the time with my two sisters. One Sunday, he passed the Rebbe for dollars, and the Rebbe gave him a blessing for success and a complete recovery.

Over the years that have passed, we have experienced tremendous salvation with this boy. He endured much physical suffering, but today, with G-d’s help, he is completely healthy.