On Friday, a friend called me and told me a wondrous story, and this is how it happened:
In Yerushalayim, there is a building with two halls. One is on the upper floor — a new and luxurious hall — and the second is on the floor below it, an old hall, not fancy at all.
On Friday, Erev Shabbos Kodesh, the caterer arrived at the luxurious hall to set up the tables in preparation for a Shabbat Chatan (celebration of a groom after his wedding), which was scheduled to take place there on Shabbos. In the middle of setting up, another celebrant appeared and claimed that he had rented the hall for Shabbos. An argument began between the two. One said, “The new hall is mine,” and the other said, “The new hall is mine.”
The caterer said to the second celebrant: “I will call the owner of the hall and you will hear for yourself that I rented the hall and even already paid a deposit for the new hall!”
He indeed called and put the conversation on speakerphone. It turned out that the owner of the hall had mistakenly booked two clients for the new hall...
The caterer called the first celebrant and told him the story and asked whether he should fight for the hall or give it up. That noble-hearted celebrant answered immediately: “I give up the beautiful hall. Set us up in the hall downstairs — the main thing is that, chalilah, there should be no argument!”
On Friday night it became clear what power lies in yielding. The electricity in the entire area went out. In the upper hall there was total darkness except for the candle that had been lit there before Shabbos, whereas in the old hall there was light and joy! How so? It turned out that in the old hall a generator had been installed, which activates automatically in the event of a power outage, while in the new hall they had not yet installed a generator. So those who yielded had an especially uplifting and joyous Shabbos!
I heard the story and shared it with all the members of my household. We were all moved by the deed and spoke about it again and again.
And now I will explain how this story connects to a providential event that I wish to share with the readers:
In honor of our grandson who got married, we took it upon ourselves to host a Sheva Berachos meal on Sunday night, and for this purpose we rented a suitable hall to accommodate the entire extended family.
On Sunday morning I received a phone call from the owner of the hall, and he had a question: “A weeping kallah called me. Because of Israel’s attack on the Iranian nuclear project and the missiles being launched at Eretz Yisrael, it is not possible for her to marry in the large hall as originally planned, since the owners of the hall locked its gates due to legal directives. And since the hall you rented for Sheva Berachos is built in a protected basement, the bride is pleading to hold her wedding there so that her joy not be entirely canceled!”
His request reminded me of the story of yielding. I turned to my wife, who was busy cooking the meal, and she too remembered the story of yielding, and together we said in unison that we forgo the hall for the sake of the bride, so she may rejoice at her wedding!
We managed to find a small shul hall that could hold only a quarter of the invited guests, but it was completely clear to us — without any doubt — that HaKadosh Baruch Hu sent us the story as a preparation for the great act of yielding that we were now meant to do.
It is clear to us that this hall was prepared from the six days of Creation for the joy of the chosson and kallah, and that HaKadosh Baruch Hu entrusted it into our hands because He knew we would pass the test and yield it to the kallah!
May it be His will that in the merit of our yielding, HaKadosh Baruch Hu will bring the complete redemption speedily in our days, Amen! צ.ה.
