Getting the donation. This is what Reb Shmerel wanted – to build a shul that would be teeming with life and that would increase his merits through the Torah, tefillah, chinuch, and chassidus that it would house.
The decision was made. The representatives of the second community received the notice with pure joy. The money was transferred to them, and the work of construction began. After the building’s completion, Reb Shmerel was invited to the community for Shabbos.
I received the call from him right after Shabbos, and he was indignant, full of complaints. He described a beis medrash with a scant number of people, most elderly, quiet, and pleasant. Where was all the enthusiasm? Where were all the young people making a “matzav”? Where had all my exciting descriptions disappeared to?
I stood there speechless. I had no idea what to answer him.
A week later, Reb Shmerel was doubly enraged. “I visited community A, and there I saw exactly what you’d described to me in community B. This is the community that outdoes the other in every way – in quality and in quantity, physically and spiritually. Can you explain what is going on here?”
I could not explain what was going on. Very strange indeed. I looked into the matter, and then the secret was revealed: The Shabbos I had come to community A, there was a Shabbos hisachdus held for all the bachurim and avreichim who had been married up to ten years, so that there were only elderly or middle-aged people left in the shul. On the other hand, community B is made up primarily of elderly people and baalei batim, but on that Shabbos when I was there it was the yahrtzeit of the father of one of the kehillah members, and in honor of the event he’d invited all the members of the family for Shabbos. Everyone came – nephews, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren – and participated in the tefillos, thus resulting in the impression I got.
Reb Shmerel did not complain to me again; he simply asked the Rav of community B, “How were you zocheh? What happened here was completely unnatural. Hakadosh Baruch Hu arranged that my messenger would come and visit on the Shabbasos when things seemed to be the exact opposite of what they really are. I am certain there is a special zechus involved here.”
The Rav answered: “Indeed. When we saw that there was no way for us to get a permanent building, the members of the community decided to take turns making a minyan to say Tehillim, to be zocheh to have our own shul. Aside from this, two members of the community were in a fight, which impacted everyone. I asked them to make up with each other as a zechus for our shul as well. On that special Shabbos, the speeches were about achdus and peace, as a sign of admiration to those members who had made the effort to close up accounts, to forgive and forego, and to make peace.
It seems these zechuyos stood by us, and Hashem orchestrated things so that you would donate a building to our community.
Reb Shmerel related all this to me, and I was amazed by the hashgachahh pratis. I also thought about how short-sighted we all are; how little a person can see and then be impressed. The shul belonging to community B, which stands to this day, reminds me of this.
