One Thursday afternoon, I received a call from Rabbi Avraham Klugstein, a prominent Dayan in Lakewood. He shared with me an incredible story — one that gives me chizuk whenever I think about it.
It began on Monday night, Parshas Noach, 5786, at precisely 11:15 p.m. Rabbi Avraham received a call from an old friend. When he answered, the friend quickly apologized, “Oh, I called you by mistake.”
Before hanging up, the caller added almost as an afterthought, “Since I already reached you, let me ask a favor. I’m calling a friend on behalf of an older single who’s waiting for his shidduch. It’s no coincidence I dialed your number by mistake. Please, daven that he find his match soon.”
Rabbi Avraham agreed and offered a heartfelt tefillah that Hashem send this unknown young man his shidduch speedily, along with all those still waiting for theirs.
The next morning, at 8:42 a.m., Rabbi Avraham’s phone rang again.
This time, it was one of his beloved talmidim calling to share wonderful news: He had just become engaged!
Rabbi Avraham was overjoyed. This particular talmid was like a son to him. He had been his Rebbe in 9th grade, and they had maintained a father-son bond ever since.
Still, the timing struck him as odd. “Mazel tov!” he exclaimed. “But tell me, when did you actually get engaged?”
“At 1:00 a.m.,” the young man replied.
Rabbi Avraham was taken aback. “At one in the morning? That’s quite unusual. What happened?”
The chassan explained, “The truth is, we were hoping to finalize things around six o’clock. But then an issue came up—something that threatened to end it all. As the night went on, it seemed less and less likely to work out. Only after eleven o’clock did things begin to settle, and baruch Hashem, at 1:10 a.m., we broke the plate.”
Suddenly, Rabbi Avraham realized. At 11:15 p.m.—the exact time of that mistaken call—he had been davening for a young man and for others to find their shidduch.
And while he thought he was praying for a stranger, he had in fact been davening for someone he loved dearly—his own talmid—at the very moment he needed it most.
