When the Rebbetzin consulted with the Rebbe, he gave his consent, and the overjoyed tailor promptly arranged for his son to come home and meet his intended. So it was, and the young pair became engaged. A wedding date was set for the week after Shavuos – almost a year away – and Dovid the chassan returned to Warsaw.
Meanwhile, Dovid’s employers had taken more than a liking to their enterprising young worker and set their sights on him to become their son-in-law. His recent engagement did not faze them. To that end they simply enlisted friends of his to convince him that a girl from the Rebbe’s home was too chassidish for him and that her frumkeit would be overwhelming.
They soon succeeded in swaying the young man, who gradually halted all correspondence with his family back home. As the wedding date neared, Dovid’s concerned father realized he had no choice but to personally check up on his son’s welfare. He traveled to Warsaw where he learned that his son had soured on the shidduch with Sara from the Rebbe’s home and already had someone else lined up to take her place.
The devastated father had some parting words for his son: “Hopefully you will not come to regret your act. Bear in mind that you have caused embarrassment for an orphan, one from the Tzaddik’s house yet.”
The kallah’s heartbreak manifested itself in a river of tears of shame and sorrow. Upon hearing the news, the incredulous Tzaddik was heard to murmur, “How is this possible when he is her zivug?”
With the passage of time and Sara seemingly regaining some of her equilibrium, the Rebbetzin’s mind came to dwell on shidduchim again. The Rebbe, however, asked that she wait a bit longer. “Let him get married first,” he said.
On erev Chanukah of that year, as the gabbai busied himself in preparation for the Rebbe’s lecht tzinden, he discovered the cabinet where the menorah was normally stored to be empty. Reckoning that Sara had removed it for polishing, he inquired about its whereabouts, but neither the Rebbetzin nor Sara could shed any light on its disappearance.
In reality, the Rebbetzin had conspired with Sara to withhold the menorah from the Tzaddik until he would agree to grant Sara a blessing to become a kallah in the coming year. Sara had been reluctant to take part in this ploy, but the Rebbetzin prevailed upon her young charge by telling her she would stand behind her and be fully supportive.
Their game plan went smoothly; the Rebbe, anxious to light the first Chanukah flame, quickly assured Sara that she would have a yeshuah that year, adding that “Sometimes we need to take a circuitous route in order to arrive at our destined place.”
Later that night Reb Yechezkel informed his Rebbetzin that Sara would no longer be in need of a dowry, for the Father of orphans would see to providing it – as befits the King in heaven. The Rebbetzin was then instructed to use the 200 rubles (initially set aside for the dowry) to secure a fruit kiosk in the marketplace for Sara’s employ.
The Gemara indicates the z’man of lighting Chanukah candles to be “ad she’tichleh regel min ha’shuk” – until people are no longer walking in the marketplace. According to Reb Moshe Leib Sassover, therein lies the lesson for every Jew to live with bitachon, trust in God. In the same way the oil that was enough for one day burnt for eight days, Hashem can help a merchant with but a limited amount of wares and funds. The underlying message of “until people are no longer walking in the marketplace” is that one is to be immersed in the mitzvah until such time he comes to understand the futility in tarrying in the “marketplace” into the late hours of the night.In similar fashion, those with faith in God do not overly stress themselves in their quest for a shidduch. All that is required of one is a reasonable amount of effort, hishtadlus; the rest is to be left in the Hands of Hashem.
As Sara was minding her wares one day, a distinguished Jewish gentleman in immaculate garb came by. After he’d paid for his goods and taken his leave, Sara noticed a small box on the ground. She picked it up and peeked inside, from where the brilliant shine of a sparkling diamond bedazzled her.
