Long ago there was a rabbi in the city of Guadalajara in Spain who was often called upon to pray for barren women to be blessed with a child. Now this rabbi and his wife were themselves childless, and his wife could not understand why he did not pray for a child of their own. But each time the rabbi's wife would ask him about this, he would reply: If it is God's will, there is no need for a prayer. At last, however, the rabbi decided to seek a reply to his wife's burning question, and he immersed himself in the mikvah seven times, and prayed that their destiny as parents be revealed. That very night an angel appeared to the rabbi in a dream and said: You are destined to be blessed with a son, but when he reaches the age of eighteen he will disappear, and it will be many years before you see him again. Now when the rabbi awoke, he told his dream to his wife; on the one hand they were greatly relieved to learn they would have a child of their own, but on the other they were f