A neighbor of mine who lives in my building once asked me to help her write to the Lubavitcher Rebbe about some personal problems she was having.  She placed the letter in a random volume of Igrot Kodesh, the Rebbe’s collected letters.  The letter on the page she opened was addressed to Esther, which is her name.  The letter contained wonderful blessings, and the woman was very happy.

A few days later, the woman’s sister said she also wanted to write to the Rebbe and ask for a blessing for children.   The letter on the page she opened was in volume 11, p. 177, letter #3568. The letter was addressed to R’ Saadya Lieberov, and it was a detailed letter explaining how to fix a problem with the local mikveh.

When I read the letter, I realized that the Rebbe was pointing out a problem with the mikveh, which is related, of course, to a blessing for children. I felt that the Rebbe was referring to a problem with the mikveh in our neighborhood of Even Yehudah, and that if this problem was solved, then the blessing would be fulfilled.

This was only my feeling, and therefore, great care had to be taken not to cast aspersions on the quality of the mikveh. I asked the woman who had written the letter not to talk about the answer.

 In the meantime, in order to make a vessel for the Rebbe’s blessing, I asked her to bring me their t’fillin and mezuzot to be checked, and I took them to a friend of mine in Netanya, a Chassid of the Tzanzer Rebbe. As he opened the t’fillin, I told him the answer in the Igrot Kodesh in which the Rebbe warns about a problem with the mikveh. I said that this weighed on my mind and that I felt that the Rebbe wanted me to have the mikveh in Even Yehuda checked.

The Tzanzer Chassid said that after reading such a letter, I shouldn’t wait but should have the mikveh checked to make sure it was 100% fine. He said that by Divine providence, his good friend was responsible for the kashrus of mikvaot in the Netanya area and he said he would call him immediately.

 He called his friend, then and there, and then gave me the phone so I could tell him the story. I told him that it seemed that there was a problem with the pipe that connected the water in the mikveh with the rainwater pit.

He asked me how I knew there was a problem and I told him about the woman who asked the Rebbe for a blessing and opened to a letter about a problem with a mikveh. Instead of responding, the man angrily hung up the phone on me.

A few minutes later, feeling somewhat contrite, he called his friend the Tzanzer Chassid back. The Tzanzer Chassid explained that answers from the Rebbe in the Igros Kodesh ought to be regarded with respect, and that the mikveh really needed to be checked. He concluded by saying, “Even if you don’t think there’s a problem, please check it out so we know that everything is alright.”

The mikveh expert asked to speak to me again. We arranged a time for him to come to Even Yehuda. Since I didn’t want word about this to get out, I asked him to be discreet. I should point out that this was a new mikveh built two years before.

As he was examining the mikveh, the woman in charge of the mikveh called and said they should wait for her because she wanted to empty the mikveh and ask a number of questions. In the meantime, until she came, we began to empty the water.

He examined the mikveh thoroughly and everything was fine. I asked him to check the line that connects the rainwater pit with the mikveh as the Rebbe had written in the letter. He stuck a broomstick inside and at first everything seemed fine but then he felt something blocking the pipe all the way inside. It seemed that the blockage had gotten there during the construction and had remained there ever since. It wasn’t clear whether the blockage was complete or partial, but it was serious either way and was fixed on the spot.