By Rabbi Yechiel Spero
Tiferet, and Israeli seminary student, was a quandary. Her family was traveling to America to attend an irreligious cousin's wedding. The entire trip was to be sponsored by her generous uncle. It was a once - in- a- lifetime opportunity for her to visit the country. However, considering the fact that her cousins were not religious, she knew the atmosphere would not be exactly what she was used to. Yet her parents very much wanted her to go.
Tiferet asked Rabbi Chaim Zaid, a rabbi in Bnei Brak and who was one of her teachers, for advice. He responded that honoring her parents is very important and therefore it would be fine if she went to America and attended the wedding. With her rabbi's consent, she traveled to America.
As she feared, the atmosphere at the wedding left much to be desired, but she still felt she had done the right thing by going.
After the wedding, her uncle offered the family another opportunity. He was willing to sponsor a tour of the entire North America. They would go to the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon, and everywhere else in between.
As it was already Elul, Tiferet called Rabbi Zaid again. This time, he strongly recommended that she return home. He knew she would not be in an environment that would not encourages to do teshuvah. " But if you do come home and leave all the fun behind, " he assured her, " I give you my blessing that even though you have all the odds against you in regard to shidduchim, you will have and easy time finding the right man."
It's true that Tiferet had all the odds against her. She came from a home that was more traditional than religious, and she had no way of helping to support a husband who wanted to sit and learn - though that was her wish. Inspired by Rabbi Zaid's blessing, she booked the next flight and declined the opportunity to tour.
The flight departed on Thursday night and was scheduled to arrive on Friday afternoon. But a few hours into the flight, an elderly passenger began to feel unwell, and the captain made an announcement that he was going to make an emergency landing somewhere in Europe. Tiferet heard the news and grew nervous. She knew she did not have a large window to get back home in time for Shabbos. Now she wasn't sure what to do.
The filght was scheduled to take off again a few hours later, but she would not make it home from the airport terminal, with nowhere to go and nothing to eat? Once again, she called Rabbi Zaid, who advised her to take the flight.
Rabbi Zaid called the authorities at the airport in Israel and made all the necessary arrangements for her to spend Shabbos in the terminal. He arranged a room with sleeping accommodations, plus wine, challah, and food for the Shabbos meals. As soon as she got off the plane at Ben Gurion, they whisked her through customs and brought her to her modest but very workable accommodations.
Tiferet felt good about being back in Israel, even though the situation was less than ideal. After she finished her Shabbos meal and sang a few songs to herself, she walked around the terminal. Suddenly, she spotted and elderly religious woman sitting on a bench, and she seemed to be upset about something. When Tiferet went over to the woman and asked if she could be of help, the woman explained that her husband was the one who had an emergency on the plane when they were flying over Europe.
" We were traveling because he was in need of a medical procedure, " She went on, " which had been performed overseas. But a few hours after we took off from America to return home, he had a massive heart attack; he died soon after we made the emergency landing. By the time I got back on the plane with my husband's aron and we flew to Israel, it was getting close to Shabbos. However, I had to wait for the chevrah kaddisha, as I did not want to leave my husband. But once they came, it was too late for my children to come and get me. Now I am here all alone for a whole Shabbos, with nobody to ease my distress."
Tiferet had the perfect solution. " I am all alone for Shabbos, too. But my Rabbi arranged special accommodations for me. I even have an extra bed in my room where you can sleep. I would very much enjoy spending Shabbos with you."
The woman was pleased that she would have company over Shabbos, someone to confide in and help her through this difficult time. The two of them bonded for the next twenty something hours and spent a special Shabbos together. Shortly after Shabbos, each went her own way.
But as the older woman took leave of her new friend, she held into her hands and spoke with feeling. " I want you to know that this Shabbos was very special. You were an angel sent to me by HaShem, to help me out during my time of mourning. I am so impressed with you. I have a wonderful grandson, and I think he would be perfect for you. Money would not be a problem either. I would just ask you to consider meeting him."
A few weeks later, Tiferet got engaged to an exceptional ben Torah from a Torah' dike family.
Yes, the grandson of the woman she had helped in the airport.
Everything we do in life is repaid measure for measure.