Rav Yisroel Majeski shared a story that he was involved with, the names have been changed. He was in the middle of teaching Dovid Levine, a Choson who was getting married that Sunday, and he couldn’t be interrupted. But why did the phone keep ringing? Rabbi Majeski glanced at the caller ID, and he saw that it was Mrs. Werner who was calling, the Choson’s future mother-in-law. She was the one trying so hard to get through to Rabbi Majeski.
The Chason’s Father Says He Won’t Come to the Wedding
After several repeated calls, Rabbi Majeski excused himself and went out of the room to take the call. Mrs. Werner told him, “Rabbi Majeski, the wedding is off. Mr. Levine, Dovid’s father, saw a name on our guest list, and he said that if this person was coming to the wedding, then he wasn’t coming, and neither was Dovid. I begged him to be reasonable, but he wouldn’t budge!”
Rabbi Majeski asked who this guest was, and he learned that it was Zev Stein, a person he knew. Rabbi Majeski told Mrs. Werner he would call her back. Rabbi Majeski called Zev and explained the situation.
Without hesitating, Zev said, “Never mind. It’s fine. We won’t come to the wedding. Please tell the Werners we’re not insulted.”
Rabbi Majeski then attempted to call Mrs. Werner, but before he could deliver the message, Zev called him back and said, “We are coming to the wedding, but we won’t go in. We’ll dress up, drive over, call the parents out to our car, and I’ll play some music. I’ll dance with my friend, and my wife will take some pictures with her friend. And then we’ll go home. And please wish the Levines a Mazel Tov, and tell them I hope we can iron things out some day.”
The Outcome of the Gesture
Rabbi Majeski gave over the message. The Steins drove for an hour to share in the Simchah, just as Zev had said they would. Rabbi Majeski witnessed the outcome of this gesture.
That year, the Steins married off two of their children and had their first grandchild. Also, a lot of difficult business issues they were facing were resolved. Rabbi Majeski said from this, “And once again, Chazal’s words are proven to be true, that Hashem said, there is nothing that holds Brachah, other than Shalom!”
Reprinted from the Parshas Pinchas 5785 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’Tefilah.
