Gitty Kramer is a Kallah however she is more nervous than excited. She has to deal with questions like: will her father be alive when the wedding date comes around, or will he succumb to his brain tumor? If he is alive, will he be present for the wedding or will he miss it like he missed his 4th child’s wedding because of brain surgery? What about her brother who just received a new kidney? The most important question of all is: Will she herself be at her own wedding or will she have to cancel it because her family has become impoverished?
The Kramers currently have no income but they still have a lot of debt from the previous wedding and due to expensive medical bills. Her Father, Rabbi Kramer, used to be a cheder Rebbi. Because he can no longer function, he isn’t able to work. Her mother was forced to leave her job to care for her husband and son full time. Because of circumstances beyond her control, Gitty may have to put to rest her childhood dreams of getting married.
Providing for a Kallah is one of the most important Mitzvahs which Hashem guarantees reward for in both this world and the next. According to the Steipler Gaon, a person helping a Kallah protects terminally ill patients from death. For anyone with a relative in shidduchim, helping a Kallah is a proven hishtadlus to them meeting a spouse. The Gemara says a childless couple providing for a kallah is a merit to have children. On the famous Talmud which says one of the questions asked by Hashem after age 120 is “Were you involved in Pru urvu?”Maharsha says a person who gives to a kallah can answer “Yes” because giving to a bride is a proper hishtadlus for having kids.
This is not just a case of providing for a poor kallah but also pikuach nefesh. With a weak and vulnerable brain, the stress to Rabbi Kramer caused by failing to marry off his beloved daughter is dangerous. Helping his daughter is literally a matter of life and death. To learn more about the opportunity to perform these two incredible mitzvahs at once, click here.
