The Klausenberger Rebbe
My good friend, Rabbi Mordechai Krasny, once told me that his father, R’ Shmuel, was very close to the Klausenberger Rebbe zt”l. Once, the Klausenberger Rebbe was making a wedding for one of his children in New York, yet R’ Shmuel was scheduled to be out of town. Notwithstanding, R’ Shmuel was set on not missing the wedding, come what may. As such, he made certain to book a flight, along with its connecting flight, to return on time for the wedding.
As so happened, there were delays on both flights, and time began slipping by ever so certainly. Despite feeling terrible, he did everything he could to make it to the wedding hall as soon as possible. After deplaning, he caught a taxi and rushed over. As soon as he arrived, though, he realized he was late. Very late. They were reciting Shir Hamaalos before bentching. The chuppa, the dancing, the meal... everything had been completed. Feeling broken, especially after considering all the hard work and planning that went into coordinating his trip, R’ Shmuel humbly took a seat.
But having arrived, he figured that he’d at least approach the Klausenberger Rebbe and wish him a mazel tov. Making his way to the head table, he exchanged looks with the Rebbe. And then the Rebbe, in a warm, echoing voice said, “R’ Shmuel! I knew you would make it!”
R’ Shmuel, later reflecting on this moment, remarked, “In one second, I went from feeling like two cents to a million dollars!”
From the Corner of Your Eye
Now, for a moment, put yourself in the Klausenberger Rebbe’s shoes. You might have found yourself in a similar predicament at a family simcha of your own. You’ve gone through hours upon hours of the chuppa, the dancing, the meal, and more dancing. And then, after all is done, and most people have left, there remains a select number of close family and friends. You sit down, about to begin bentching, and from the corner of your eye, you notice someone walking through the door.
They don’t look familiar. In the past several hours, you can’t remember someone looking quite like that. Until he steps closer and closer, and his face comes into focus.
It's a good friend of yours. Someone near and dear to you. Except there’s one problem: everything is done. He missed it all. The chuppa that proceeded so wonderfully, along with the dancing that was so lively, and the meal that was well-received by all. All of it is in the past, and your friend didn’t show up for any of it. What should you say?
A Lesson from the Klausenberger Rebbe
The Klausenberger Rebbe taught us. “I knew you would make it!” Just how well do we know exactly how much effort our friend put in to making it to the wedding. In this case, R’ Shmuel spent hours rearranging his schedule and thinking and implementing ways to make it on time. But, for reasons beyond him, he didn’t.
Our response? With middos. Take all the thoughts and considerations you might have of him not caring or being preoccupied with his own life and turn it all around. And then let him know that you had no doubt that he'd make it. You will see how such a warm, embracing and welcoming comment will make his face light up. A lesson to take home, and a lesson to take outside.
Reprinted from the Parshat Chaya Sarah 5784 edition of the Torahanytimes.com Newsletter.
