My 2 Birth Miracles

My 2 Birth Miracles

Miracle Number One

I was lying in bed, terrified, panicking and thoroughly losing it the morning before I gave birth. Out of the blue, in the middle of my hysteria, I remembered a massage I received as an anonymous gift last winter.

“Ooooooh, how I wish Zipporah would stop by to give me a massage like that again, that would help me to feel better…” But I hadn’t seen Zipporah for over half a year, and I was in no condition to start searching for her phone number and making phone calls and appointments. And I forgot about my wish, until…

Later that night, when we were finishing up Friday night dinner, there was a knock on the door. It was Zipporah. “I was out eating at another family, and wanted to stop by to say ‘hello.’”

At that point, I still didn’t realize that I was in labor. I just felt a ton of pressure and had a contraction every time I stood up. Anyway, I couldn’t possibly be in labor, I convinced myself, since I had never ever given birth before my due date. And I also couldn’t possibly give birth before my mother-in-law arrived on my due date from Canada to take care of our kids. This meant that I still had at least 2 days to go.

After the meal, my husband asked Zipporah if she would mind giving me a massage, to help me feel less stressed out. And Zipporah helped me to feel so much calmer as the contractions got closer and closer together. She also gave me some great advice. When I told her that I was terrified of the pain I would feel during the birth, she advised me that I could observe the pain from the outside, instead of feeling overwhelmed by it. And that unusual impartial-observer way of viewing the pain helped me throughout the labor.

After the massage, Zipporah asked if there was anything else she could do for me and I asked her if she would mind sleeping over at our house, just in case we needed to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. And Zipporah graciously agreed.

I tried to go to sleep but I couldn’t because my contractions started coming every 5 minutes. Through every contraction I envisioned the warmth of Zipporah’s hands on my back and that comforted and relaxed me, and I imagined that I was observing the contractions from the outside, and that also helped.

And when my husband and I were on our way to the hospital, I felt so calm and confident. “I had hoped that Zipporah would come over to help me, and Hashem sent her. Hashem is watching over us, everything is going to be just fine. “

And b”H, it was.

Miracle Number 2

A week after the birth, my husband and I went out for a celebratory Fish and Chips dinner. As we were finishing our meal, a Nachlaot pedophile approached our table and started screaming and spitting at us for warning other neighborhood parents about him (read more about the Nachlaot Pedophile Crisis).

This wasn’t the first time this pedophile was harassing us. He had spat and screamed at my husband a few days before at the shuk.

But this time, for some reason, he was focused on me. “I want to talk to HER!” he yelled at my husband as he tried to push his way to me with a strange, possessed smile on his face.

When my husband tried to push the pedophile back so he couldn’t get to me, the pedophile turned to the large crowd of people at the restaurant and said, “He assaulted me! You are all witnesses!”

I called the police, and the pedophile was pulled away by a friend. But this was definitely one of the most bizarre experiences of my life.

So this last week has been a challenging one. Not only because of the postpartum rollercoaster I’m riding. But because every time I leave the house I am bracing myself for yet another encounter with this enraged pedophile.

B”H, our local policeman is excellent, and he is determined to protect us against this criminal and to prevent further harassment.

But, as I’ve told you before, JewishMOMs, I really was not built for this kind of thing!

So why is this my 2nd birth miracle? Because, as strange as it sounds, I believe that just like Hashem sent me Zipporah when I needed her, He sent me this pedophile to harass me and my husband.

Maybe Hashem wants me to develop a thicker skin? Maybe Hashem wants me to realize that I have nothing to be scared of, since a screaming pedophile really isn’t as scary as I would have thought? Maybe Hashem wants to show me how terribly this pedophile is suffering, so I can see how terribly he is being punished even if he isn’t yet in jail?

But whatever the reason, it doesn’t really matter… Just like Hashem sends nice, pleasant, miraculous miracles, he also sends some tough and scary ones.

And all of them are to give me what I need and to teach me what I need to learn. Miracles when they are easy and when they are hard, too.

14 comments

  1. I like thinking that you learn from that 2nd experience that a screaming pedophile really isn’t as scary as one would think. I admire your attitude, in any case.

    mazel tov and may you have many more miracles of the 1st variety.

  2. Remember… you know what’s coming to them. You know how this is going to end. You have nothing to fear. You are Mama Bear. 🙂

    Sending you lots of strength and wishing you lots of sleep!

  3. Rachel Shifra

    oy dear! Sending you protection

  4. That’s an amazing birth story, and the pedophile sounds quite scary. Stay strong.

  5. since everything is always for the best , dear chana i wish you to be always able of seeing it and understanding that even if it is hard it is really for the best, like you did in both miracles!
    mazal tov!

  6. Bracha Goetz

    Thank you for sharing this extremely valuable insight!!

  7. This pedophile is showing everyone in a public way his true gross nature. One would think that he would want to ‘lay low’ and avoid public displays of inappropriate behavior, but by acting like he did, he shows everyone how evil he is and how correct you were to publicize his misconduct. Even though it is scary, he is the one losing not gaining by attacking you. Keep strong and continue to resist. May Hashem send us all only revealed goodness.

  8. I’m glad you are safe. Thank you for sharing your miracles and thank you for doing your part to warn people about him!
    He may not know what thin ice he could actually be treading on. About ten years ago, a man my parents knew had approached my mother in a restaurant as well, making advances toward her so quickly that my father had no time to even think before all was said and done. Three days later, the man died suddenly and unexpectedly, well before his time. It may have been just a coincidence, but we all wondered…

    Anyway,I marvel at HaShem’s mercy toward people (myself most definitely included)and I’m thankful for the opportunities to learn from everything that comes our way.

  9. firstly i have walked by and seen jenny and joshua enjoying their meal a few times and they look so happy and relaxed. i can understand why he went for you. look at him, alone,miserable, no one at all with him. and then you sitting there all cheerful and happy – with your husband too.

    yes you got it crystal clear, like i told you before when you were threatened nothing will happen to you. jenny they have no power. nothing. its all bluff and lies and pretend. there is nothing there.

    the power of blackness,pride,arrogance, super self confidence is nothing. the light of hashem is overpowering. that is why he could not stand to see you two. it blew up his tiny little mind.

    he saw what he does not have and never will because he has chosen a life of destruction and misery.

    there are other ways to punish a man besides putting him in a jail cell. this is one. everything that upsets him weakens him he is going to totally self destruct and we will watch it with our eyes like you did then. and do nothing and keep quiet and watch how the light of hashem wipes him out. amen amen amen.

  10. So sorry you had to go through that (pedophile) experience, especially so soon after birth! Wishing you lots of strength, relaxation and peace of mind.

  11. This pedophile is definitely suffering a nervous break down everyone in Israel knows who he is. The children in the neighborhood know who he is and tell jokes about him. The other pedophile the hunchback is also the laughing stock of the neighborhood.

  12. tell me again why this person is not in jail if everyone know what a criminal he is?

    • it is extremely difficult to get convictions in cases like this, since the only witnesses were young children, who were usually drugged so they wouldn’t be able to provide coherent testimony. So the police and the social workers and the lawyers and the parents all know this person is a pedophile, but at this stage it’s impossible to put him in jail.

  13. Maybe the second gift enabled you to see what a united team you and your husband can be and that he is there to help protect you.

    Kol hakavod for being public about what’s going on.

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