Something seemed to bother Reb Shmuel. His good friend Hershey had called him to get shidduch information about a prospective boy in his yeshivah. Reb Shmuel and Hershey were two very close friends, and as they grew older, Reb Shmuel became a rebbi in a local yeshivah, while his friend went into business.
Now, Hershey was reaching out to get information on a specific boy who was redt for his daughter. Reb Shmuel was a bit surprised — or a little more than just a bit. Hershey was a fine man, but the young man he was calling about was in a league of his own — the star of the yeshivah. He was the brightest among all his friends, and the one with the finest middos as well, not to mention personality. He had it all.
“The boy would definitely say ‘no’ to Hershey’s daughter,” he thought to himself. “But I can’t tell him that.” First of all, Reb Shmuel knew that Hershey would be very hurt, and second, it would be the end of their chavrusah-shaft. They’d learned together every morning for many years, and spelling it out for Hershey might endanger their bond.
Reb Shmuel simply told Hershey that the boy was a fine boy, and when the shidduch gets more serious, he’ll offer more detail. However, Hershey assured him that they were already standing at that point. The chosson’s side had given their “yes,” and now it was their call.
“If that’s the case,” Reb Shmuel thought, “I’ll have to stand up to the plate.” He went into lengthy detail how great the boy is, and that if there was one boy who he’d point to as being “the best boy,” it would be him. Hands down. He laid it on thick. Hershey was glad to hear such a report from someone whom he trusted.
Reb Shmuel was thrilled that his friend got such a catch, but he was dumbfounded how he pulled it off. When the shidduch was finalized, he overheard his daughter talking about how the “star” of her grade, Hershey’s daughter, had gotten engaged. That explained something, but the question was still better than the answer.
The next day before they sat down to learn, Reb Shmuel extended his hand to wish Hershey a heartfelt mazal tov. “I am so happy for you,” remarked Reb Shmuel. “I envy you for getting such a shidduch. If only I could get sons-in-law of that class for my daughters, that would be great!”
Seeing the wonder over Reb Shmuel’s face, Hershey sat his good friend down and offered him a personal story:
“Growing up, my dream — and my father’s — was that I’d become the CEO of his business. A white-collar job bringing in a substantial income for my family. But when I went into business, I went the other way. I chose to work in a warehouse instead of taking such a job. I preferred to work with brown boxes and dark people than to sit before flashing screens. My father’s business didn’t run under proper kedushah guidelines. I preferred a dirty outside and a clean inside rather than a nice outside and a dirty inside. If there’s anything that I could point my finger at and say that was my zechus, it must surely be that.”
Reb Shmuel was in shock. His “ordinary” friend was by no measure “ordinary.” To turn down such an offer that was served to him on a silver platter took a lot of gevurah. It’s not like he found another job that lined up with that of his father’s — by any means. They were worlds apart, yet to keep his neshamah pure, it was well worth his while.
Now, not only did the shidduch fall into place, but a question that had been bothering Reb Shmuel for years had been resolved. Why hadn’t Hershey’s father taken him into his business? Most fathers dream that their sons will fill their shoes. Why did he leave Hershey with backbreaking labor? Hershey was a picture-perfect CEO, even without being the inheritor, so why had his father left him to do such hard labor? Hershey was such a hard-working employee, that when he reached out to Reb Shmuel to set up their learning session, he said that he wasn’t able to learn afterhours because he was so tired at night that he barely had strength even to daven. He therefore requested Reb Shmuel to learn early in the morning. Now the picture was clear.
It was Hershey’s choice. It was Hershey’s victory. And it paid off. Big time.
