Shidduch by Fax
There is a credit card statement on the refrigerator door with yellow highlights on some of the lines. Ayalah insists that it stays there until her wedding. Then, she intends on moving it into her new home.
Her mother, Nechamah, searches for a pen and paper. Ayalah interrupts her just as she is about to begin writing. “Ima,” she asks surprised, “You’re writing on chol hamoed? What could possibly be so urgent that you are writing it now?” Nechamah ignores the question and changes the subject. As soon as Ayalah leaves the room, she jots down what was so pressing: “Ayalah bas Nechamah – for a shidduch hagun.” Next, she picks up the Vaad Harabbanim brochure that came in the mail, tears off the part with the form, fills out the credit card details,and checks off the box for tefillos every day until the shidduch comes. Nechamah is satisfied now. She just hopes that the neighbors will be home so she can use their fax machine to send it to Vaad Harabbanim.
In the meantime, she folds up the paper and hides it in the pocket of her robe. She hurries through the yom tov preparations so that she can finish early enough to run over to the neighbor for a few minutes to send the fax before yom tov. After all, the seventh day of Pesach is auspicious for finding one’s shidduch.
As soon as everything is ready, she tries to sneak out of the house. It’s really important to fax it in before Yom Tov.
She knocks and knocks, but the neighbors don’t answer. They must have gone away for Yom Tov already.Disappointing.She hears the children calling to her, but they will have to wait. That fax must go out now. She darts across the street to another home, and manages to send it.
Not too long after Yom Tov, Ayalah is sitting in her living room with her family and with her chosson and his family. Her friends are coming over to hug her and wish her mazal tov. They are so happy she finally found the right young man – and they have heard such wonderful things about him!
As Nechamah wipes away a tear, she thinks about how wonderful it is to be marrying off her first child.
A few weeks after the engagement, Nechamah is checking her credit card statement, when she sees that Vaad Harabbanim made its first charge. She had actually forgotten all about it, but now she must call, to let them know they can stop davening for her. Then she notices the date of the charge: it was a date she could never forget, because it coincided with the date of Ayalah’s engagement!
Giving tzedakah always helps bring yeshuos, but sometimes the yeshuah occurs in the future, and sometimes it happens right away. Sometimes the yeshuah comes through a series of natural circumstances, and other times it is a clear miracle!!
