Rav Yisroel Alter, the Beis Yisroel, zt”l;
Yisrael, a Yid from southern Eretz Yisrael, was facing several troubles. He had five daughters looking for their shidduch, with the oldest already twenty-eight years old. He was broken and distraught over this. To top that off, his chavrusa, with whom he learned the entire day, also had a daughter in shidduchim, and within no time got engaged and married.
This in itself didn’t bother him. What troubled him instead was the story behind the chasunah. Yisrael’s chavrusah was in financial straits and needed to find a way to pay for the upcoming wedding. With no choice, he borrowed the money for the wedding. But, anyone who seeks a loan must bring a collateral to ensure that, if the borrower can’t pay, the creditor will nonetheless get his money.
Not having a house of his own, Yisrael’s chavrusa had no collateral to use for his loan. Therefore, who did he turn to? He turned to his devoted chavrusa, Yisrael, who trusted him and was always there to help.
Now, His House was Being Taken Away from Him
However, within a short time, his chavrusa wasn’t able to keep up the payments, and the bank came around to collect the collateral—Yisrael’s house. So, in addition to his five older daughters all awaiting their shidduch, Yisrael was now having his house taken from him.
Some while later, Yisrael attended a relative’s chasunah in Yerushalayim. There, one of his relatives, knowing the challenge he was facing, tried convincing him to meet the Gerrer Rebbe, the Beis Yisrael (Rav Yisroel Alter, 1895-1977), who lived not far from the wedding hall. At first, Yisrael was hesitant, as he wasn’t from that school of thought, yet the relative persuaded him that no harm can come from going there, so he agreed.
The Rebbe Offered Him His General Advice
When he met the Beis Yisrael, Yisrael poured out his heart, explaining everything that he was facing. When he finished, the Beis Yisrael asked him: “Did you thank Hashem already for what you’ve gotten up until today?” Without giving him a chance to respond, the Rebbe offered him his general advice:
Davening is comprised of two primary facets—thanking Hashem and requesting from Hashem. How do you split them? Sixty percent of your davening should contain thanking Hashem, while only making requests during the remaining forty percent.
Yisrael accepted the Rebbe’s advice and departed. Within sixty days of changing his davening, his twenty-eight-year-old daughter got engaged, and within an additional four months, two more of his daughters got engaged. Shortly after, the chavrusa’s mother passed away, leaving him a big inheritance that was able to redeem Yisrael’s home, and everything was settled.
Reprinted from the Parshas Behar 5784 email of Zichru Toras Moshe.
