#394 (s5765-37/ 25 Iyar 5765)

Three Rubles for a Mismatch

"But...won't I receive three rubles as payment for suggesting the match?" he stammered


Three Rubles for a Mismatch

It was already Thursday afternoon, and Yankel still did not have any money for Shabbat expenses. He was prepared to take any odd job in order to earn enough to put at least wine and challot on his table. When Friday came and he still had not found work despite his extensive efforts, his wife thought of an idea.

"You know, Yankel, there is a great Rabbi in our city who is in need of a shiduch for one of his children. I heard that he offers three rubles to anyone who has a decent suggestion. I'm sure we can think of someone suitable. You will suggest this to the Rabbi, and we will have at least three rubles to honor the Shabbat with."

Seeing no other alternative, Yankel put his mind to work and indeed came up with a worthy suggestion. He hurried over to the Rabbi's house and suggested the match.

The Rabbi's eyes lit up. "This shiduch is worthy of consideration," he said. "Come to me after Shabbat and I will tell you if I wish to pursue the matter."

Poor Yankel was devastated. Embarrassed as he was to ask, he could not withhold his disappointment. "But…won't I receive three rubles as payment for suggesting the match?" he stammered.

"My good man," the Rabbi replied. "My answer to you revolves around the resolution of two conflicting Talmud passages. In one place, our Sages relate (Talmud Sota2a) that forty days before the conception of a child, the Heavenly court announces, 'The daughter of so-and-so will marry the son of so-and-so.' On the other hand, later on the same folio page they also state, 'Finding one's mate is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea.' The latter statement is problematic. Since the match has already been announced, what is the great difficulty involved?

"The reason for the difficulty comes about because of misinterpretations made by the angels who are assigned the task of bringing the couple together. Unfortunately, there are many crippled angels. They were created from improperly fulfilled mitzvot, carelessly uttered blessings, and prayers devoid of concentrated thought. These imperfect angels emerge deaf, dumb, or limping. Thus, they cannot always properly hear or convey the name of a person's true mate.

"As a result, matchmakers come by with many suggestions. The different suggestions which occurred to them are the names misinterpreted by the crippled angels. When these suggestions are presented to me, I can sense that they are not the intended mate. Nevertheless, I feel obliged to pay these rubles for the effort and good will.

"Your suggestion, however, seems indeed to be the right one announced in heaven. After Shabbat, we will discuss how to proceed with this match and you will earn a handsome fee for your effort -- much more than three rubles."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Lightly edited by Yrachmiel Tilles from "From My Father's Shabbos Table" (pp. 110-111), Eliyahu Touger's excellent selection and translation from the first two volumes of Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik's 4-volume series, Reshimat Devorim.]

Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit.

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