On this holiest day of the Jewish year, in the holiest moments of the Kol Nidrei service, when the Rebbe was normally envelo-ped in such fear of the Almighty that people were afraid to approach him, the Rebbi dropped everything to hear the pleas of this young orphan. He turned to her lovingly and said “don’t cry, my child, I will be your Father and bless you this Yom Kippur!”

With tears streaming down his face, the Rebbe proceeded to place his hands atop a scarf upon the head of the girl and gave her a most heartfelt and sincere blessing for the coming New Year, in memory of the holy souls who had perished in the Holocaust. After the girl dried her own tears and thanked the Rebbe, she went back to her room and whispered her good fortune to her friends. In turn, they lined up to receive their own blessing and the Rebbe calmly blessed every girl who came to him that Yom Kippur Eve.

Thus, were the seeds of the Children’s Home planted that Yom Kippur Eve, of 1946.