The story that I’m about to tell took place in the early months of 1988. At that time I was running the advertising department of 47th Street Photo, which then was a half-billion-dollar company. It was considered the largest photography store for graphic equipment in the world, and it had one of the largest in-house advertising agencies in New York City. We would place hundreds of ads with the New York Times yearly (at times spending in excess of $350,000 a month!), and as a result we had a great deal of clout with them.

One day I was running the advertising department of 47th Street Photo, which then was a half-billion-dollar companyI got a phone call from the owner of 47th Street Photo, Reb Chaim Yehuda Goldstein, asking me to assist Chabad-Lubavitch with a special ad placement. He said, “Please help them out and make sure they get what they need. Whatever you can do will be appreciated.”

Almost immediately I heard from the Chabad representative organizing advertisements, Rabbi Yehoshua Metzger. He told me that the Rebbe’s birthday was approaching, and that Chabad would like to honor the Rebbe with a prominent full-page ad in the New York Times. Previously, their ads had gotten lost in the paper, and they wanted to make sure it wouldn’t happen this time.

I immediately dispatched my people to speak with the New York Times people, and we were successful in procuring premier placement—the back page of a section of the paper. What’s more, it was at half the usual price!

I was thrilled, Rabbi Metzger was thrilled, and that was the start of a beautiful friendship between us. It was then that he asked if I would like to meet the Rebbe—he offered to arrange a meeting for me and my family on Sunday, when the Rebbe would typically greet people and give each person a dollar for charity. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, and of course I didn’t hesitate to grab it.

I remember the appointment was set for 11 a.m. on a Sunday, It was then that Rabbi Metzger asked if I would like to meet the Rebbe . . .and we—I, my wife and our six children—arrived an hour early. Many people were already waiting to see the Rebbe, lining up around the block. We thought to ourselves, If we get in before nightfall, we will be very lucky. But promptly at 11, Rabbi Metzger showed up and ushered us right in.

We were introduced to the Rebbe, who gave us all a blessing, plus thirteen dollars to distribute to charity. As we were about to leave, I decided to be bold. I was holding our youngest, Raizy, in my arms, and I told the Rebbe what was troubling me and my wife about this child.

She was eighteen months old, yet she wasn’t even standing or crawling, when she should have been walking already. Because of this, our pediatrician had recommended that we take her to a neurologist, and we’d made an appointment for ten days later. I explained all this to the Rebbe, and I asked him for a special blessing for Raizy.

The Rebbe turned to me with a smiling face and said, “Der Eibershter zol helfen, du vest ir firen tzum chupah besha’ah tovah umutzlachas” (“With G‑d’s help, you will accompany her to the marriage canopy in a good and auspicious time”).I decided to be bold. I was holding our youngest, Raizy, in my arms, and I told the Rebbe what was troubling me and my wife about this child.

We walked out treasuring the experience, and the rest of the week proceeded as normal. Then came Shabbos. This was three days before Raizy was to see the neurologist.

As was my custom on Shabbos morning, I took my four older boys with me to the synagogue. I returned around noontime, walked up the stairs into the front entrance of my house, and I called out Gut Shabbos! My wife was sitting in the living room with Raizy, on the floor to the left of the entrance. Seeing me come in, Raizy picked herself up—never having walked or even crawled before—and walked toward me across the living room floor! She walked approximately 15 feet!

My mouth was agape. I just didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. I became so emotional that I was shaking.

Both my wife and I were just beyond words. We had no idea what prompted this sudden dramatic change in Raizy’s behavior, but we both saw it as a miracle. There was no question about it in our minds. The child literally picked herself up and started walking, without ever having crawled before. I was so taken aback that, forever after, I felt tremendous gratitude to the Rebbe for what transpired.

Of course, we cancelled the appointment with the neurologist. I make the trek to the Rebbe’s resting place quite often, because I have such a strong belief that he is guiding my familyThere was no reason to take her. And Raizy grew up a normal child in every way. We took her to the chupah, as the Rebbe promised. Today she is the mother of a couple of children, and a perfect balabusta. We expect to see much more nachas from her.

Since the time the Rebbe passed away, I make the trek to the Rebbe’s resting place quite often, because I have such a strong belief that he is guiding my family, and the gratitude that I feel to him for being our emissary to the Creator of the World is unbounded.