“I had taken a brief summer vacation in 1992 to visit my son and his family in Crown Heights,” relates Reb Isser Kirszenberg, an employee at the Israeli embassy in Argentina. On Sunday, I joined the line at ‘dollars.’ As I passed by the Rebbe, I told him I would soon be returning to Argentina. The Rebbe gave me two dollars, wishing me “Blessing and success,” and a safe trip.

“As I turned to leave, I told the Rebbe that I would celebrate my birthday in two weeks. The Rebbe called me back, gave me a third dollar, and blessed me with a long life.”

Mr. Kirszenberg was shocked. He did not consider himself to be an old man, and saw no reason for the Rebbe to offer such a blessing. Needless to say, despite his surprise, he appreciated the blessing.

“A month later, on a Tuesday afternoon in March, the Rebbe’s blessing ‘for a long life’ took on a very immediate meaning. What had started out as a routine busy day at the Israeli embassy turned into tragedy when a terrorist bomb blew up the building. One wall of Mr. Kirszenberg’s office collapsed entirely, and he was engulfed in clouds of smoke and gas. A photograph clearly shows the gaping hole in his office.

“It is clearly nothing short of a miracle that I emerged from the shattered building without as much as a scratch,” related Mr. Kirszenberg.