A dollar from the Rebbe

A man, who was not yet a religious Jew, once went by the Rebbe during the distribution of dollars. This individual had never yet been circumcised, and while he was there, the Rebbe promised him that if he would have a bris done to himself, the Rebbe would give him an additional dollar.

This man – we’ll call him Jacob – was impressed by his encounter with the Rebbe, but was, nevertheless, not inclined to accede to this particular request of the Rebbe. Thus, the years went by, and Jacob remained, very unfortunately, an oreil.

However, with the passage of time, Jacob had a son who became enamored with Yiddishkeit, and the son took the plunge to become a full fledged baal Teshuva. Recently, this son got married, and Jacob, the proud father was ecstatic, and not a little bit emotional, during the chasunah. During one of thesheva brochos, Jacob got up, and, in a very moving address, he recounted the experience he had with the Rebbe years before. He concluded by announcing that – as a gift to his dear son, the chosson – he would finally take the step of having himself circumcised. Needless to say, all the listeners were duly impressed, and encouraged him warmly.

A day or 2 later, a stranger walked over to Jacob. ‘I want you to know’, he began, ‘that I was one of the waiters at your son’s wedding, and it was a very uplifting experience for me. I was specifically touched by the way the wedding clearly affected you. As a token, I want to give you, as a gift from me to you, this dollar that I once received from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’. Saying so, the man presented Jacob with a dollar! [This waiter had not been at the sheva brochos, and was completely unaware of the remainder of the story].