Wiping Away her Tears

by Shalvi Weissman

At 12:15 pm Rachel walked in to Yad Eliezer and sat down with Milka and Rabbi Dov Weizel, the director. The tears came before the words. It took her a few minutes to compose herself enough for the story to come out.



“I’m 24 years old. My friends are already mothers to a few children. Finally I got engaged to a suitable young man and was hoping for a brighter future. My father passed away ten years ago. Celebrating my engagement without him aroused the hole in my heart that will never fully heal. My mother is disabled and has very little with which to provide for us. She really tries. Without extra expenses, and cutting as many corners as we can, we get by. But when it comes to the cost of a wedding and setting up a home... I’m scared. My mother made a minimal commitment to cover our half of the expenses. When my older brother got married an individual helped us, and my mother assumed that they would help me also, but that man is no longer able to do so. Now I’m scared that the wedding won’t even happen if we are not able to pay our share. I’m not asking for new clothes or appliances or anything. But I want to get married. I need to be able to pay for a simple wedding. I have no father, I have nowhere to turn. What will become of me? If this falls through what will be left of my life?”



Rabbi Weizel was deeply moved by the pain and plight of this young lady. He and the staff of Yad Eliezer believe that every Jew in Israel is entitled to a life of dignity and self respect. With generous donors who feel the way we do, we do what we can to make that belief a reality.



After hearing this story, with their hearts still heavy from Rachel’s pain, the Yad Eliezer staff called some of the donors. They in turn spoke to others, and by the following morning the amount that was needed for the wedding had been raised, with money to provide new clothing and essentials for the bride.



Rachel was contacted right away. She came in to the office again in tears, but this time tears of gratitude. She wanted to know if it was ok to use some of the money that they received to buy new shirts and pants for her siblings. “They too are orphans and never get new clothing from a store. Do you think the donors will mind if I share the money?”



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