Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Shalit’s Lucky Dollar

Sometimes a dollar bill is not just a dollar bill. According to a report by Arutz 7/Israel National News, it can be a portent, as in the case of a certain dollar bill given to a woman 21 years ago by the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, along with a blessing.

According to Chabad (the story’s original source), the note in question ended up in the hands of Aviva Shalit, when a Chabad rebbetzin named Chana Kanterman came to visit her at the now dismantled Gilad Shalit protest tent next to the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem. Kanterman insisted on giving the dollar bill, which she had personally been handed by the rebbe, to the Shalit family as a sign of her support for their struggle.

A date had been written on the dollar bill when Kanterman received it from the rebbe, but she had forgotten what it was. Aviva Shalit reportedly reminded her of it when she texted Kanterman excitedly after her son was safely at home. The date written was 20 Tishrei — the Hebrew date on which Shalit was freed.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.