After looking for a job for over a year, Sheindy K. finally
landed a good position in a frum office in a NYC firm:
good pay, good conditions, nice atmosphere. Only one problem:
she had to travel an hour each way between Brooklyn and
Manhattan, which meant getting up early. She decided it was
worthwhile and used the time to prepare lessons for her
Sunday morning Talmud Torah class.
Efraim, an erstwhile yeshiva student, had received an unusual
dispensation. Instead of sleeping in the yeshiva dorm, the
mashgiach had allowed him to sleep with his ailing
grandfather in Manhattan until his family was able to make
better arrangements. His service was much appreciated, as he
was the only grandchild or child on the right side of the
Atlantic who was able to pitch in and help. The
mashgiach took into account the extenuating
circumstances and the fact that Efraim was an outstanding
student who could be relied upon to keep all of his
commitments in the yeshiva and to the family without missing
a beat. This meant getting up early but the effort was more
than worthwhile. Efraim had already finished Seder
Moed on the train.
All this did not go unnoticed. Al, a veteran train conductor,
began to keep an eye on Efraim on his first run, and on
Sheindy on his third run. He had a brainstorm.
He approached another passenger, described the two young
people, and suggested that the rabbi introduce them to one
another. They were both young, single (he presumed), Jewish,
seemed to be compatibly religious since both studied from
their `Bibles.'
The unbelievable part of this true story is that the rabbi
was none other than Rabbi Moshe Rivlin z'l, secretary
to R' Moshe Feinstein and R' Yaakov Kamenetzky, a veteran
shadchon known throughout New York for making many
matches. The conductor had a good sixth sense and had picked
out the right man for the right job. And another bayis
ne'eman was on the (rail)road.
When asked once how he had managed to successfully finalize
one hundred and fifty matches, Rabbi Rivlin typically replied
with a story: He had once approached a famous vintner for the
secret of his lush vineyards and fabulous wines.
"You have to keep planting," was the reply.
Keep Planting
A young Litvish family, the Cohens, moved to Israel and
gradually got to know their neighbors. In order to make the
family feel at home, the neighbors made a special effort to
invite the family to their numerous simchas. Along the
way, Mrs. Cohen got to know many people, including two women
who were married to chassidishe Rebbes. These were really not
her social circles but she took a chance and suggested a
match between the two families.
It did not work out, but one of the women could not help but
remark at the `coincidence' that a newcomer, an American
yeshivish woman, had thought of the very same match that one
of the top chassidishe shadchonim had been promoting
for over half a year!
The saying goes that every suggestion brings the real
basherte [heavenly intended] closer. Many times we see
this before our very eyes. Often a match is suggested, the
individuals meet, decide they are not for one another, but
having met, they are able to suggest a friend, and this
becomes the true match!
