Closing the Circle – as Only Hashem Can Do

My name is Yosef Yehudah. I was born shortly after my grandfather z”l passed away, and I was named after him.

I followed the standard path of every child in our chassidic community: kindergarten, cheder, and yeshivah. Since the custom in our circles is to marry young, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I too would be offered shidduchim. I was considered a good catch, and no one expected that I wouldn’t follow the beaten track of all the other young chassidishe bachurim and soon stand under the chuppah. But it was not to be.

Most of my peers got married during my second year at the yeshivah; by the end of my third year I was the only bachelor left from our group. Some of my former ye-