In 2010 I was contacted by N’shei Chabad to ask if I would take a video of a speech that the Rebbe’s doctor, Ira Weiss, had agreed to give for their annual convention in New York.
Since I knew Dr Weiss personally, and although I had done almost no video work, my pro camera was capable, I readily agreed.
We arranged a time, with Dr Weiss preferring to do it at his home in Skokie, a few blocks from where I lived.
The house was simpler than I had expected — in fact much looked like it probably had been unchanged in many years. The dining room, however, looked very nice, and this is where Dr Weiss wanted to record his talk.
As I set up my lights, camera, and off-camera microphone, Dr Weiss surprised me with a little — but never before shared — story. He started by pointing to his beautiful inlaid-wood dining table, and saying “You know, the Rebbe bought this table for me.”
(I didn’t record his story, so this account is my paraphrasing of it…)
“On one of my regular visits to check on the Rebbe in the years following his heart attack, the Rebbe asked me what was new in my life, as he always did. He showed a real interest in my life, my wife and kids. On this occasion it happened that we had been considering the purchase of a new dining room table, so I shared that with the Rebbe.”
“He said that was very good, because it would make it more pleasant for me to have guests on Shabbos. However I explained that we were hestating because the table my wife liked was quite expensive and I felt that it was too fancy for our simple dining room. The Rebbe asked how much it was, and that was the end of that conversation.”
“I didn’t think much more about it until I received in the mail a note from the Rebbe, saying that the table my wife had picked out went perfectly with our dining room — which of course he had never seen! He said that he wanted us to get that table, as a gift of appreciation from him… And there was a check enclosed for the exact amount!”
“So we purchased the table, but then had doubts because whereas the table top was made with beautiful inlaid wood, our dining room looked old and shabby. I decided that perhaps we should replace the carpet, which was the original carpet from when we bought the house. “
“So we had someone come in to pull out the old carpeting, and discovered to our astonishment that there was a hardwood floor underneath — with a border of inlaid wood that looked much like the table! We had the floor refinished, and suddenly the table looked perfect in that room — exactly as the Rebbe said it would!”
I felt very privileged to hear such an amazing story first-hand. Especially one which Dr Weiss said he hadn’t shared.
In the video, Dr Weiss is sitting at that very dining room table.