When a Father’s Prayer Was Answered

Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, the beloved Chief Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, once shared a powerful story that touched all who heard it. It happened many years ago, but the memory still moves him deeply.

“My oldest daughter, Chaya Rivka, was just 16 when she came home one day with a swollen eye,” Rabbi Grossman recalls. “At first we thought it was something minor. But it didn’t go away—it got worse. Her eye became filled with pus and blood. It was painful and frightening.”

For the next seven months, the family went from doctor to doctor. First local clinics, then big hospitals—in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Hadassah in Jerusalem. One doctor said it was a problem with the eye, another thought it was the skin, and another said it was some kind of allergy. No one had clear answers.

Eventually, Rabbi Grossman was in the United States and met someone who mentioned a top eye expert, Professor Ornblass. The professor agreed to help—but only after examining Chaya Rivka himself. Rabbi Grossman quickly called Israel and arranged a flight for her the next day.

The plane landed in New York early in the morning. Even before seeing the doctor, Chaya Rivka made a heartfelt request: “I want to go to 770 and see the Lubavitcher Rebbe.”

It was well known that the Rebbe of Chabad would come out to greet people around 10 a.m. each day at 770 Eastern Parkway. They arrived just in time. As the Rebbe stepped out of his car, Rabbi Grossman stood in front of him.

The Rebbe noticed him immediately and seemed to sense something was wrong. Rabbi Grossman quickly explained: “This is my daughter, and she has a serious issue with her eye. Please bless her for a full recovery.”

The Rebbe looked at her with great care and said just one sentence: “Check the mezuzah right away, and she’ll be healed immediately. You will raise her to Torah, to the chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy), and to good deeds.”

Without wasting a moment, Rabbi Grossman went to a payphone and called his wife in Israel. She contacted a sofer (a Jewish scribe), who came to their home to check the mezuzahs. What he found left him stunned: the words "bein einecha"—"between your eyes," from the Shema prayer—were erased on one of the mezuzahs. That very moment, his wife replaced it with a kosher one.

Meanwhile in New York, Rabbi Grossman went to pray the morning Shacharit prayer. When he finished, his daughter came up to him with shining eyes and said: “Abba, something’s happening with my eye.”

Later that day, she lay down to rest—and when she woke up, the swelling, pus, and bleeding were completely gone. It was as if it had never existed.

Still, they kept their appointment with Professor Ornblass. The professor examined her carefully and compared her healthy eye to the original scans. He was amazed. He turned to Rabbi Grossman and asked, “What happened?”

Rabbi Grossman shared the story.

Two weeks later, he returned to the Rebbe for another blessing. “My name is Yitzchak Dovid ben Ita Pearl,” he said. The Rebbe looked at him and asked gently, “And how is your daughter?”

“Thank God, much better. Her name is Chaya Rivka bat Esther Beila,” Rabbi Grossman answered.

“May it be even better!” the Rebbe replied.

Eighteen years passed. One Shabbat, Rabbi Grossman was the guest of honor in a synagogue in New Jersey. A man saw him, ran up to him, and hugged him with tears streaming down his face.

“I didn’t recognize him at first,” Rabbi Grossman says. “But it was Professor Ornblass. He looked at me and said with deep emotion, ‘I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the miracle of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I saw that Hashem is real.’”