Lähde http://www.lchaimweekly.org/lchaim/5754/314.htm
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/survivors/lau.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yisrael_Meir_Lau
The date: Spring, 5734 (1974).
The place: 770 Eastern Parkway, the reception room of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's office.The time: 4:10 a.m.
The door to the Rebbe's room opened, and the Rebbe could be seen escorting a young rabbi out.
He had just finished a private audience that lasted for two hours and forty minutes. The tens of students waiting outside were filled with curiosity.
They had heard that the pleasant man served as the rabbi of a neighborhood in Tel Aviv, but this did not justify such a lengthy private audience.
When they heard the Rebbe's final words to the young rabbi, their curiosity turned to respect. What had the Rebbe said? "I bless you that just as today your influence spreads over part of Tel Aviv, it should eventually spread over all of Tel Aviv and finally over all of Israel."
The young rabbi pondered the surprising conclusion to his discussion with the Rebbe.
He had thought that his greatest accomplishment was that he was still alive and able to meet the Rebbe. Yet the Rebbe had predicted a great and glorious future for him.
His thoughts returned to the past...
Seven-and-a-half year old Lolak knew that his parents were no longer alive. He knew that his brothers had also died.
Only he and Naftali, who was ten years older than he, were left.
Even Naftali had been cruelly separated from him. Lolak was being held with Russian prisoners of war, while his brother was kept nearby in a section reserved for Jews.
One morning Naftali was ordered to join a group of Jews who were told that they were going to work outside the camp. Naftali knew better. He realized that this was to be his final journey, a march to death. His eyes furiously searched the other side of the fence until he found what he was looking for - his little brother Lolak.
Under the eyes of the camp guards, he ran towards his brother and motioned him to come close to the fence. He stretched his hands through the fence to touch his brother one last time, and then, with tears streaming down his face, he said, "Listen, my dear Lolak. They are taking me away, and we will never see each other again. If you do manage to live, know that there is a place in the world called the Land of Israel. Go there and say only that you are the son of the Rav of Pietrokov. We have an uncle there who will surely find you."
Against all odds, in a most miraculous way, Naftali managed to escape the jaws of death.
He lived to find his brother and rescue him.
For months the two boys fled from the Germans and hid in the forest.
At times Naftali had to carry his little Lolak hidden in a sack on his shoulders. They both survived the war and reached the shores of the Holy Land.
Lolak was now known by his full name, Yisrael Meir Lau.
He grew up and studied in a yeshiva.
One goal always stood before him: to become a Rav.
A glorious chain of thirty-six generations of rabbis had preceded him. He was determined not to break the chain.
Years passed and Yisrael Meir succeeded in his goal.
He was appointed as the rabbi of an important neighborhood in North Tel Aviv.
In the years to come, Rabbi Lau earned a place of honor in the rabbinic world. From the neighborhood in North Tel Aviv, he went on to become the Chief Rabbi of Netanya.
Early in the spring of 5748 (1988), Rabbi Lau arrived once again in New York to meet with the Rebbe.
His esteemed father-in-law, Rav Yedidya Frankel, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, had passed away a year and a half earlier.
During their meeting the Rebbe had hinted that Rabbi Yisrael Meir would soon be appointed Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.
When Rabbi Lau informed the Rebbe that elections to the post of chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv had not yet been held - the elective body had not even been appointed - the Rebbe just smiled and said, "Indeed, the formal elections have not yet taken place, but in Heaven, the decision has already been made as to who will be the next Rabbi of Tel Aviv."
Less than seven months later, on the 15th of Elul, Rabbi Lau was appointed Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.
Exactly three years later to the day, Rabbi Lau again arrived at "770."
It was a Sunday, when the Rebbe handed out his weekly dollars for tzedaka.
Rabbi Lau told the Rebbe about the mikva that was being built in Tel Aviv and other projects he had initiated. He asked for the Rebbe's blessing for all these activities.
Suddenly, without any preamble, the Rebbe said to Rabbi Lau, "You should go from strength to strength. Snatch whatever time you can during your administration as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv... in two years or less you will be appointed Chief Rabbi of Israel."
Excited and perhaps a bit confused, Rabbi Lau answered, "With the Rebbe's blessing."
"But a person cannot be forced in such a matter. It must be with your consent," the Rebbe continued. "If I intercede in this matter, then it will probably become a reality..."
Indeed, less than a year and a half later, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau was appointed Chief Rabbi of Israel.
During a spontaneous meal of thanksgiving that night in his home, Rabbi Lau revealed that despite all the tension of the election campaign, he had never doubted that he would merit the esteemed position. As he stated in numerous interviews, he believes in the prophetic words of the Rebbe, which have proven to be true time and again.
From Miracles and Wonders, Vol. 2.
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