he doctor looked at the test results, at Reb Nachum, and back at the results. Reb Nachum felt his heart plummeting. “Not yet,” he said finally, slowly. Even without the interpreter, Reb Nachum understood the answer.
“Tell him I won’t make it,” he said, almost pleading, to the interpreter at his side. “Tell him I have a son who is engaged and I want to be at the wedding. Just that. I want to live a little bit longer, until my son’s wedding.” Tears blinded his eyes.
Nearly a month later, Reb Nachum returned his soul to its Creator. Alone in a foreign country, far from his loving, concerned family, far from the chassan who awaited his return so eagerly.
Thirty days have passed and the wedding date is fast approaching.
There is nothing. Simply nothing, save for a mountain of debt Reb Nachum has left behind. He’d been working hard to repay his debts when the disease had struck and he’d been sent abroad for urgent treatment. No one had thought the end would be so bitter. Everything had been left in the middle, waiting for Reb Nachum to come back and tie up loose ends. Tragically, that day never came.
How can this wedding be turned into one of happiness and joy?
These are the sorts of stories that come in to the Kupat Ha’Ir offices on a daily basis. They are painful, the level of suffering boggles the mind.
It is easy, when faced with so much tragedy, to become desensitized. One individual who has, against all odds, continued to keep his heart open to the stories is beloved Gadol Rav Shimon Galai shlit”a.
This is why Rav Galai has chosen to continue to give his public support to Kupat Ha’Ir’s orphan wedding funds. This month, 36 orphans are getting married. Rav Galai gives his bracha to all who donate to Kupat Ha’Ir’s Tammuz orphan wedding fund that they should, midah k’neged midah, merit to have nachas from their own children.
In today’s world, this is a tremendously important bracha. And, as far as the Rav is concerned, it is a fitting bracha for this tremendously important cause.
You can help preserve the legacy of Reb Nachum and the other parents who have passed away, by raising their children to the chuppah in their absence. This is a priceless gift, both for the giver and the receiver. The days are counting down until the orphans’ chuppahs. Readers can donate now to give the orphans what they need.
