In 5732 (1972), Yocheved Chanah Ratner married Avraham David Stauber. It was a gilt-edged wedding. Both came from wealthy, well-connected Californian Jewish families. They seemed to be riding the peak of good fortune.

But the wheel of fortune has been known to turn. Two years later, when David graduated from law school, the Ratner-Staubers took a long-awaited European vacation. While driving through Greece, their sportscar veered off a mountain road and plunged into a deep ravine. Avraham David escaped with minor injuries, but his young wife was stuck in the wreck for hours. When she was finally extricated she was bleeding all over, and partially paralyzed. By helicopter, she was flown to a hospital in Athens.

The extent of Yocheved Chanah’s injuries was beyond the expertise of the Greek doctors. Fearing damage to her spine, they inserted a metal plate in her back. The surgery was unsuccessful; indeed, it increased the extent of her paralysis. Gangrene and hepatitis set in. Out of fear and frustration, the doctors advised the Ratner-Staubers to have her transferred to an American facility.

Resolving to provide their daughter with the finest medical care, her parents had her brought to a hospital in California. After an initial examination, the doctors were very pessimistic. They doubted Yocheved Chanah would ever be able to sit up again.

Shortly after her arrival at the hospital, Rabbi Shlomo Cunin, West Coast Director of Chabad- Lubavitch, visited Mrs. Ratner-Stauber. Yocheved Chanah’s father had been one of Chabad ’s initial supporters in Los Angeles, and for several months before leaving for Europe, the Ratner-Staubers had attended Shabbos services at the Chabad House. Indeed, a week before they departed, they had been Shabbos guests at the Cunin home.

Rabbi Cunin was direct and to the point: Many seriously ill people had been helped by the Rebbe. Yocheved Chanah should write to ask for a blessing.

Yocheved Chanah had never written to the Rebbe before, but the thought that his blessing might help filled her with hope. As she composed the letter, she felt a spiritual connection and a sense of inner peace.

The Rebbe replied immediately, sending a response in duplicate by special delivery, one copy to the hospital where Yocheved Chanah was convalescing and another to Rabbi Cunin. Moreover, he had one of his secretaries call Rabbi Cunin and convey the essence of his message verbally, to make sure that Yocheved Chanah received an answer before Shabbos.

The Rebbe instructed Yocheved Chanah to light Shabbos candles,1 preferably by kindling the lights herself. He also emphasized the importance of bitachon (trust in G‑d’s ability to heal), and concluded with a blessing.

Yocheved Chanah was partially paralyzed, and had been given instructions not to move, for any movement could further damage the nerves in her spine. For her to light candles meant that her husband had to place one in her hand and move it so that she could light. This he did for several months.

Yocheved Chanah’s condition began to improve, and she was moved from the hospital to a rehab center. One Friday her husband was visiting and her parents were supposed to come and bring the Shabbos candles. The Ratners became stuck in traffic, however, and arrived after Shabbos had begun. Yocheved Chanah knew that she should not light candles after Shabbos had started, and so did not have the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah.

Later that night, she began hemorrhaging. The doctors did not know what to do. At one point, they thought she had only moments to live.

After the Shabbos ended, her husband called Rabbi Cunin and told him the story. Rabbi Cunin had him promise never to allow such a situation to repeat itself and called the Rebbe’s secretariat. Shortly afterwards, the hemorrhages stopped.

From that point onward, Yocheved Chanah made marked improvements, and within four months she was discharged from the rehab center. Although she remained confined to a wheelchair, she returned home and began to resume ordinary life. So complete was her recovery that she would and still does swim for several hours a day.

When she was discharged, the doctors warned her not to enter pregnancy for at least two years. She did not heed their warning, and entered her first pregnancy shortly thereafter. It goes without saying that one of the first things she did after conceiving was to write to the Rebbe telling of the doctors’ concern and asking for his blessings.

The Rebbe replied, promising her an easy pregnancy and an easy birth, that both she and the baby would be healthy, and that she would deliver a happy and healthy child at an auspicious hour.

When Yocheved Chanah told her doctor about the pregnancy, he advised her to abort. Having a child would be too risky, he told her.

When he saw she was adamant, he changed his tone. “We’ll schedule a Cesarean delivery,” he told her. In his mind, a natural childbirth was absolutely out of the question.

Yocheved Chanah was resolute. She switched doctors, explaining: “My Rabbi promised me an easy birth. Why shouldn’t it be natural?”

She chose the same obstetrician who had delivered Rabbi Cunin’s children. He respected the Rebbe, and was willing to attempt a natural birth. He made one condition. “If at any moment, I decide a Cesarean is necessary, you must agree without argument,” he told Yocheved Chanah.

True to the Rebbe’s words, the pregnancy was easy. The birth was natural and the baby was delivered without complications.

And the baby was born “in an auspicious hour.” The Ratner-Staubers had planned to name the child Aliyahu Simcha Adom after Yocheved Chanah’s grandfather, and Adom was born on his namesake’s yahrzeit.

A little less than two years after Adom was born, Yocheved Chanah entered a second pregnancy. Again, she wrote to the Rebbe for a blessing and received a warm reply.

Several months later, she was surprised to receive an unsolicited letter: “I am reiterating my blessings for your child. May you raise him to Torah, marriage and good deeds.”

The family’s curiosity was further piqued when, at the Rebbe’s Yud-Alef Nissan farbrengen, Yocheved Chanah’s father approached him and asked for a blessing. The Rebbe covered the microphone and told him: “Your grandson will be fine.”

Several days later, the Ratner-Staubers understood the Rebbe’s intent. On the morning after the Second Seder, Adom fell ill and was rushed to hospital. The doctors diagnosed spinal meningitis. They did what they could, but had little hope of combating the dread disease. Bluntly, they told the Ratner-Staubers that the child would not survive.

As soon as the holiday ended, Rabbi Cunin called to tell the Rebbe what had happened, but received no answer. During this time, little Adom hovered between life and death.

Then one day, Rabbi Cunin rushed into Adom’s hospital room. “The Rebbe gave his blessing,” he told the Ratner-Staubers. And directly afterwards, as if it had been planned, a doctor entered with test results indicating that the baby’s condition had taken a turn for the better.

Shortly afterwards, Aliyahu Simchah Adom recovered, and continued to develop normally, with no sign of what he had undergone.