By Aharon Spetner
Illustrated by Miri Weinreb
“Wow,” said Shimmy as the Greenbaums arrived at the hotel where Tante Ahuva’s chasuna was being held and a bellhop came over to take their coats.
“Oh. My. Kneidlach.” Basya breathed as they walked into the lobby, which had been decorated with what looked like over ten thousand pearl-white roses.
The smorgasbord was incredible - there were seventeen different types of meatballs, and each type was available with thirty different sauces!
“We’ll need to eat 510 meatballs to see what they all taste like,” said Yitzy.
“I think I need a bigger plate,” Shimmy said, looking down at the small plate in his hand.
“You don’t need to eat every single thing here,” admonished Cousin Pinny, who had come all the way from Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Just take a few meatballs and enjoy them. There is a whole meal soon and you don’t want to ruin your appetite."
Shimmy and Yitzy wisely took Cousin Pinny’s advice and only took five meatballs, three slices of pastrami, and a potato knish. It was a good thing too, because the next thing they knew, the chosson, their new Uncle Berish was being led down towards the chuppah.
The holy Horki Rebbe, Uncle Berish’s uncle, was mesader kiddushin, and everyone present could feel the kedusha mixed with the cool nighttime air.
The glass broke with a loud bang and the music exploded as Uncle Berish and Tante Ahuva were danced away by a group of spirited bochurim.
As the first course of the meal was served, Shimmy and Yitzy took their seats at the cousins’ table, next to Donny from Cedarmere and Benji from Woodhurst, who were already engaged in animated conversation.
“I’m going to be a rocket scientist,” said Donny. “I already know more about science than anyone in my school. I’m going to get a job designing superluminal spaceships that will take humanity to other galaxies!”
“What?” said Yitzy. That didn’t sound right, but who was he to argue with Donny, who knew more about science than anyone in his school?
“I’m going to be a brain surgeon,” Benji said. “I’m going to perform regenerative noninvasive prefrontal cortex surgery on the posterior cerebral lobe of the brains of COVID-19 patients.”
“Well, I’m going to be a rocket surgeon,” said Jonah from Coffeeneck, New Jersey, joining the conversation.
Shimmy and Yitzy laughed.
“No, really,” Jonah said seriously. “Long duration spaceflight passengers will need to have surgeons on board - I’m going to be the first surgeon to operate in zero gravity!”
The music started up as Uncle Berish and Tante Ahuva entered the ballroom and everyone got up to dance. But Shimmy and Yitzy lingered in their seats. Suddenly they didn’t feel like dancing anymore.
“Shimmy, Yitzy, is everything okay?” asked Totty who had come over to see why they weren’t joining the dancing.
Shimmy and Yitzy told Totty about the conversation they just had with their cousins.
“Totty,” Shimmy said. “Our cousins are already planning to be such important people - we never really thought much about doing anything like that. But they seem to have it all planned out.”
“Kinderlach, do you know about Yaval, Yuval, and Tuval-Kayin?”
“From the end of Parshas Bereishis?” asked Yitzy.
“Correct, said Totty. “They invented tents, musical instruments, and how to make metal tools.”
“Wow,” Shimmy said. “So, before them people had to live in caves without music and shovels and things like that?”
“Yes,” said Totty.
“Wow, they were some really important people,” said Yitzy.
“Tell me, boys,” Totty asked. “What do you want to do when you grow up?”
“We always thought we’d learn in kollel for as long as possible,” said Shimmy.
“And then if we needed parnasah, we would maybe get a job as a rebbe or a rov or something,” Yitzy added, as Shimmy nodded in agreement.
“Beautiful!” Totty said. “Now in Parshas Noach, which of the people I mentioned were saved from the mabul?”
“Uh...” thought Shimmy. “None of them. Only Noach and his children.”
“Exactly!” Totty said. “Hashem didn’t save those so-called important people. He saved the tzadik and his family, regardless of what the rest of the world thought of them. By striving to be the best eved Hashem you can possibly be, you will be more important in Hashem’s eyes than any doctor, lawyer or scientist!”
Reprinted from the Parshas Noach 5786 email of Toras Avigdor Junior based on the Torah teachings of Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l.
