וּבְ נֵ י יִ שְ רָ אֵ ל פָ רוּ וַ יִ שְ רְ צוּ...
And the Children of Israel were fruitful, increased greatly...
A man living in Israel with eleven children was faced with a dilemma. It was time for his daughter to get married but he had no means of paying for the wedding.
Flying to America, he immediately headed to a number of Shuls in search of financial assistance. Finding little success, one day, he broke down in tears while saying Tehillim. Noticing him crying in the corner of the Shul was another man. “Why are you crying? Can I help you?” Looking up teary-eyed, the man sighed and began to detail his woeful story. “Look,” the other man said, “there is one wealthy individual in the community who is very generous. If you go to him, he will surely help you.” Realizing that there was nothing else left to do, the man began to feel hopeful. “Really?” “Yes, he is very kind. But I must tell you, he can easily change his moods. If you catch him at a time when he is in a good mood, he will be more than gracious to you. But if you catch him when he is not in the best of moods, don’t expect him to be too generous.”
Making his way to the wealthy man’s home, he was immediately welcomed inside. “How can I help you?” “Well,” the man began, “my daughter is getting married soon and I don’t have the wherewithal to afford a wedding.” Hearing of the man’s plight, the gentleman said, “If I may ask, how many children do you have?” “Eleven,” replied the man with a straight face. “Eleven children? How can you have eleven children when you cannot afford to support them? I have one child and I am able to give him everything he needs. How could you be so foolish?”
Sitting there and now realizing that the man was in a bad mood and that no money would be coming his way, he fell silent. What could he say? And then it hit him.
“The Talmud says that there are three partners in the creation of a child: the mother, father and Hashem. That means that I am a partner with Hashem eleven times. I have a contract with Him with each of my children and I am fully confident that he will support me and my family in some way. My children are His children and I know He will never abandon His children.”
