"What was Hashem thinking when He introduced us?" my best
friend's husband used to tease her. I'll call them Shira and
Shmuli.
"What was I thinking? A Chassidishe yid marrying a
Litvak like you? How could a Chossid love a Litvak?" Shmuli
loved different versions of the same refrain and it became a
big joke among family and friends.
"She has other talents," we would reassure him, when Shmuli
complained about Shira's very few domestic skills.
"So I married her for her mind?" the teasing continued.
But not to worry, dear reader, they had a lot in common.
Sholom bayis and the Shechina were their constant
companions (still are) as they were (still are) to each
other. They worked together in their store, walked together
for exercise, learned together... all for the sake of Heaven.
They were very like-minded about the harmony of sound body
and sound soul. Together they strove for the fulfillment of
the Commandments, to be the best Jews they could be. And we
all shared in their strengths.
When Shira became pregnant with their first child, she and
Shmuli discovered that they had the same blood type. "You
see," she had found a way to tease him back, "we do have
something in common!"
Years later, Shira and I were doing some genealogical
research, and she made the wonderful discovery that both she
and her husband are descendants of the Tosfos Yom Tov. Shira
had managed to trace her own line all the way back, but was
missing just a few generations on Shmuli's side.
"Maybe we're not related, after all," Shmuli couldn't resist.
"How could the descendants be both staunch Chassidim and
Litvaks? Maybe on my side it's just a misguided tradition,"
he shrugged. But Shira was certain that they were distantly
related.
A long while ago, Shmuli was diagnosed with serious kidney
disease. Shira even kept it from me for several years. He
didn't appear to be that ill, but his blood toxin levels had
been lethal for all that time. The doctors called him a
walking miracle; they still do! We attributed Shumli's unique
physical state solely to his high spiritual level and his
commitment to Hashem and Torah. He was forever learning and
forever teaching, especially non-religious people whose path
crossed his. And Shmuli did indeed have his successes -- men
disposing of their earrings, putting on Tefillin, women going
to Torah classes.
He did not appear to be sick for quite a long time. But
finally, his time appeared to be running out. Shmuli was told
that he would need a kidney transplant for any real quality
life expectancy.
"Can I give him one of mine?" Shira naively asked the
doctor.
"You've got to share the same blood type, at the very least,"
was the doctor's skeptical response.
"We do!" Shmuli and Shira declared together.
Thus began their odyssey through laboratories, and
subsequently high tech medical examinations -- and surgery.
Yes, their blood types matched. And yes, their blood samples
`failed' a second test, in which failure is a positive
response. The third blood test broke the components of the
blood into ten different criteria and six of theirs matched
perfectly!
"Mazel tov!" the doctors told them. "Statistically, your
matched blood is one in 100,000! Chemically, you could be
brother and sister!"
Before any final decision was made regarding the surgery,
Shmuli and Shira prepared spiritually as well. He went to the
Amshinover Rebbe, who asked him a surprising amount of
questions about Shmuli's family background. And, this was
prior to their discovery of the matched blood! They also
asked a cousin abroad to visit the grave of another Rebbe who
had been so helpful throughout their married life. They asked
friends, myself included, and relatives to pray for them on
several continents. We all added a few extra mitzvos
of our own, and two days before the surgery, the two of them,
Shmuli and Shira, went to the Kosel for some serious
contemplation and supplication.
And now Shmuli is alive and well, with thanks to the A-
lmighty (and to Shira). He is walking around with what used
to be her kidney -- they are bound by blood in more ways than
one would expect!
Statistically, their blood match was close to impossible, and
certainly improbable. Without being a genius in mathematics,
it is fairly simple to calculate that if there are eight
different blood types, taking into account the positive and
negative factors, there is only a 12.5% chance of marrying
someone with your blood type. However, research shows, at
least in the Jewish community, that as many as 60% of married
couples have matching blood types.
*
And here is a wonderful story we heard while Shmuli and Shira
were recovering from surgery. It proves without doubt
Hashem's supervision over us all. A childless couple went
overseas to adopt a child, who soon developed kidney disease
and required a transplant. The adoptive mother insisted on
donating a kidney to her already beloved child. The doctors
shook their heads, but went ahead with the blood tests. When
the results were ready, the couple was called into the
doctor's office, together with the child.
"You'll have a very difficult time in court if you ever try
to prove you are not the biological mother of this
child." By then, the doctor was shaking his head and smiling
like he never had before. With tears of joy, the parents set
the date for the surgery and today, mother and child are
doing just fine.
Who can say that Hashem didn't lead that couple directly to
that particular baby for adoption! Who can say that Hashem
doesn't have a hand in every detail!
*
Shmuli's transplant surgeon, while not being outright
`secular,' is certainly not Orthodox, either. Before the
operation, he told them that he had a 100% success rate and
had never lost a patient. And as he pointed up, he smiled and
said,
"But it has nothing to do with me."
