She Heard the Sounds from Oholei Torah in Her Home

Living behind Oholei Torah, a non-Jewish woman would hear the sounds of Oholei Torah boys and find their papers in her backyard. Read this incredible story of how it saved her son’s life and inspired her to sell her home only to “a follower of Rabbi Schneerson.”

By Mrs. Rochel Lustig – Chabad.org

Many years ago, my husband, Rabbi Hershel Lustig, the long-time elementary principal of Educational Institute Oholei Torah, received a phone call from a young man who had been at the Ohel earlier that day. The young man had started a conversation with another visitor—a non-Jewish woman dressed in formal attire—who shared with him what led her there.

She told him that she lives in Crown Heights, on Lincoln Place, on the block right behind the Oholei Torah school building on Eastern Parkway. “Their chanting is so pure, inspiring and beautiful. It is music to my ears,” she said enthusiastically, explaining that she was able to hear the children’s morning prayers from her home.

Shortly before this encounter at the Ohel, she had experienced a devastating family crisis and made a special trip around the corner to Eastern Parkway to ask one of the students from Oholei Torah where they pray when they have a serious problem. The boy candidly replied that they go to the Rebbe’s Ohel and gave her the information she needed. “That’s why I’m here,” she concluded her story.

The young man shared this exchange with my husband so he would know and appreciate that the children pray so beautifully that they even inspire a non-Jewish neighbor.

I am a ninth-grade teacher at Beth Rivkah Girls High School in Crown Heights, and every year when I teach the chapters in the Book of Kings that describe the building of the First Holy Temple, we read about King Solomon beseeching G‑d to respond to all prayers offered in the Temple, especially those of the gentiles.

“And also to the gentile, who is not of Your people Israel, but will come from a far country… and he will come and pray toward this house. You shall hear in heaven… and do according to all that the gentile calls You for, that all peoples of the earth may know Your Name, to fear You, as (do) Your people Israel, and that they may know that Your Name is called upon this house that I have built.

Generally, I try to include ideas or stories from the Rebbe in my lessons, and when we reach this section, I share the story of the woman from Lincoln Place with my students, to illustrate how even non-Jews come to the Ohel to pray. I always conclude that based on King Solomon’s prayer, I am sure whatever this woman asked for at the Ohel that day was certainly fulfilled.

One year, when I recounted the story, one of my students shared that she lives on that block of Lincoln Place and confirmed that on days she is home from school, she can hear the boys from Oholei Torah praying.

“Who knows?” I said in jest. “Maybe you are living in that woman’s home… ”

The next day my student walked into class and said, “Mrs. Lustig, you won’t believe this. We do live in that woman’s house!”

Later that night, I spoke with her mother who filled in the details. Around 15 years earlier, she was in the market to purchase a home and checked out a house for sale on Lincoln Place. She was surprised to see many magnets on the refrigerator holding up a bunch of Oholei Torah worksheets and even one magnet with a photo of the Rebbe. The homeowner explained that these papers flew into her backyard from the open school windows, and in appreciation for their holiness, she hung them on her refrigerator.

“And why do you have a magnet with a photo of the Rebbe?” the woman asked.

“Ah, Rabbi Schneerson! Recently my son was in a terrible motorcycle accident and was barely clinging to life. I asked one of the students I met on Eastern Parkway where they pray when they are in big trouble, and he advised me to pray at Rabbi Schneerson’s gravesite. I did so and my son made a miraculous recovery!”

“I love this photo,” she concluded. “And in appreciation, I want to sell my home only to a follower of Rabbi Schneerson.”

Hearing this story was an emotional experience for me. After 10 years of sharing this story in my lessons and confidently predicting the outcome based on the verse in the Book of Kings, I finally had my confirmation.