Chava sat on a chair in the front room and looked at her
mother who was peeling potatoes for a kugel. Her mother's
hands were nimble and she worked with great zest.
"You work so fast! What's the rush?" Chava commented.
"Well, I had some exciting news," said her mother, Shifra. "I
feel that this shidduch that Masha the Shadchonis
suggested for you today is just the thing."
"Masha was here today?" Chava, only seventeen, had already
been on the list of several matchmakers.
"This time she came up with an excellent boy! A really fine
yeshiva bochur. His father is a rov somewhere up north,
she said. He comes from ten generations of rabbonim and he,
himself, already has smicha. He's learning in
Yerusholayim at the present and is willing to meet you."
Chava sat quietly and tried to digest the news. If anything
came of this shidduch, and from the way it sounded, it
surely had a good chance, it would mean that she would become
a rebbetzin herself. She tried to picture herself a
rebbetzin, but it simply eluded her.
"Abba made immediate inquiries by his Rosh Yeshiva and it
seems just like Masha says. He is an outstanding boy." Shifra
seemed so sure of the positive conclusion of the match that
her eyes flashed with excitement.
"Is that all you can say about him? That he's the son of a
rov? Did Masha mention any other details? Did she describe him
at all?"
"Oh, she said the usual stuff. That he's excellent, brilliant,
a real talmid chochom. A genius, a baal middos,
yirei shomayim. And even if half of what she said is true,
he must be something we have to look into. A person we would
be proud and happy to have in the family."
Chava sat quietly and pondered about what she had heard. She
was only seventeen but wise enough to the ways of the
matchmakers, who traipsed in and out of their home. They
repeated the same phrases over and again, but Masha had added
something else this time -- the fact that he was a rabbi's
son, the tenth in a line of rabbonim, with smicha
already, indicating surely that he intended to be a
`practicing' rov.
"Am I suitable for the role of rebbetzin?" Chava asked
in a small voice.
"Why not? You are educated and you have all the right
qualities plus a knack for organizing things. You'll make a
wonderful rebbetzin!" her mother said encouragingly,
laying down the paring knife. As she was about to leave the
room, she stopped by the door and added, "By the way, we told
Masha that he can come here and see you tonight."
Chava was relieved in a way that the matter was out of her
hands and she wouldn't be kept suspended. She'd see the boy
and let things develop from there.
The meeting took place and Chava was impressed. The candidate
was very intelligent and made a good showing. He seemed to be
well versed in everything, listened attentively to her
opinions and was very courteous. The fact of his smicha
seemed a definite asset and made him sound very important.
When Masha came the following day, she let the family know
that Chava had impressed the boy as well. "Now what?" thought
Chava.
*
The War of Independence broke out then and Masha was the one
to deliver the news that all of the out-of-town boys had gone
home since Yerusholayim was considered high risk. But she had
another match, to be sure. A masmid, baal middos, and
the other familiar terms. With an added advantage -- his
parents were well-to-do.
The family was in a dilemma. How long was this war going to
last? Was the first candidate already committed to Chava or
was he open to other suggestions close to home? All these
questions were discussed and for her part, Chava was willing
to wait a while. She was still quite young.
Several weeks of bombing went by and Masha kept on coming and
pressing her case. Chava was wavering. Yerusholayim was under
siege; only armored cars were permitted to enter the city and
no one in his right mind would make the effort to come
voluntarily. Besides, it seemed that on the outside, life was
flowing with steady regularity.
"So what do you think?" her mother turned to Chava. "Should we
wait for who- knows-how-long or should we try Masha's other
suggestion?"
"How can I see anyone and concentrate on casual conversation
when bombs are falling all around us?"
Several more weeks went by and Masha turned up one day with
fresh news. The rabbi's son had risked coming to the war zone
just to see Chava. Another meeting was set, since Chava felt
she couldn't refuse, considering all the trouble he had gone
to in coming. As for concentrating on the flow of
conversation, she would do her best under the difficult
circumstances.
Shifra, the mother, now suddenly had her reservations. What
about the parents? What if they objected, for some reason or
other, to this match? These things did happen. She would not
like to finalize anything without meeting them... She voiced
her opinion to Chava.
*
The war lasted for several weeks more. Finally, the roads were
clear for traffic. As expected, the boy's parents came to see
Chava and her family. To Shifra's distress, they requested a
dowry.
Masha came to the rescue but from a different direction. She
suggested that Chava meet the second boy, the one with wealthy
parents. Shifra decided for her daughter, since Chava was too
confused to think straight. A meeting was set.
Two boys appeared at the door. In this turmoil, things
remained at a standstill. Several days later, Masha came with
a message: no dowry was requested but being realistic, since
there was very little money for the intended couple, they
would have to reside somewhere out of town where rentals were
cheap, and try to make it on their own.
*
The marriage took place and the young couple went to live in a
immigrant camp, a maabara, along with many poor
refugees from the Holocaust. Eventually, they relocated to a
city in the north, where he was offered the position of rabbi.
And so was the family tradition continued, and he became the
eleventh generation in a line of rabbonim.
