By Rabbi David Ashear
Dovid was about to marry off his youngest daughter. Shortly before the wedding, his business collapsed. His oldest son, whom we’ll call Binyamin, noticed his father’s worried mien and asked him what was wrong. His father told him about the failure of his business.
“I honestly don’t know how I’ll be able to afford the wedding,” he admitted.
“Don’t worry,” Binyomin told his father. “I will pay your share.”
Then the father found out that the chosson’s family could not afford their share, either, and his worries returned. Binyomin stepped up again and offered to pay for the entire wedding.
“Can you afford to do this?” asked his father, overwhelmed.
“I have some things I can sell,” Binyomin assured him. “It would be my pleasure.”
With no other options, Binyomin’s father accepted his offer, even though it was very embarrassing for him to have his son pay for his own sister’s wedding. Binyomin assured him he would not tell anyone about it. The only ones who would know were the chosson and his parents. Together, they decided they would use the chosson’s and kallah’s monetary gifts to help defray the wedding costs, and Binyomin would make up the difference.
On the night of the wedding, they gave Binyomin the code to the safe into which the gift envelopes were placed. As the wedding celebration drew to an end, he opened the safe, removed the envelopes, and began stuffing them into his pockets. Just then, a relative – we’ll call him Shmuel – walked into the room and saw what was going on. “You thief!” he shouted. “You should be ashamed of yourself! I can’t believe you’re taking the wedding money!”
He strode over to Binyomin, wrested the envelopes out of his hands, and plucked the remaining ones from his pockets. Binyomin remained silent. He joined his wife and told her he was ready to leave. It was not until they were home that he told her what had happened.
“Why didn’t you tell Shmuel that you were supposed to take those envelopes?” she asked incredulously.
“I couldn’t,” Binyomin replied. “No one can find out that I’m helping to pay for this wedding.”
The next day, Shmuel called Binyomin. Somehow, he had found out what Binyomin had been doing. Now he was terribly embarrassed about having accused him of stealing. “Please forgive me!” he entreated.
“Okay,” Binyomin said.
“I’m sure you don’t really mean it,” Shmuel retorted.
To which Binyomin replied, “You’re right, but I’m going to work on myself.” Shmuel decided to help Binyomin find a shidduch for one of his children who, due to various issues, seemed unlikely to get married. He spent all his free time calling shadchanim from around the world, trying to find a match. Finally, six months later, he facilitated a shidduch.
At the joyous engagement party, the two relatives hugged each other, crying emotionally. Binyomin told Shmuel, “The only way my child could ever have gotten married would have been if I hired someone to work on a shidduch for six months straight, leaving no stone unturned. And you did that for me! I don’t know what to say.”
“Please, just forgive me for what I did to you,” Shmuel begged.
“Of course,” Binyomin said, this time with his whole heart. (Living Emunah on Shidduchim)
Reprinted from the Rosh Hashanah 5785 email of The Weekly Vort.
