One of the greatest miracles in the Torah, occurs in this week’s portion of the Torah reading, Parshas Bo; the splitting of the sea for Bnei Yisrael while the Egyptians sank way below.
This miracle is compared to countless examples of how Hashem has and will always have mercy and compassion for his children, and how G-d is always there to save us no matter what the situation might look like.
One of the strongest comparisons that is made regarding the splitting of the sea, is said about making shidduchim – matchmaking. It’s written that the pairing of couples is as hard as it was to split the sea.
An act that seems so natural and easy, which is to bring a man and woman together to build a home and a life together, is associated with the difficulty and impossibility of splitting the sea?
There are countless matchmakers, and countless ways that people meet one another, and yet there are so many singles in the world that are such wonderful people. It makes no sense why getting married and building a home is one of the hardest tasks.
And to strengthen this thought, matchmaking is compared to splitting of the sea.
Perhaps in today’s times it seems like the institution of marriage isn’t as strong as it was in former years when life seemed a bit simpler and divorce was less prevalent than it is today, making young adults think 100 times before they get married.
However, matchmaking and getting together was always, in a sense, a miracle. There is a biblical story which illiterates this point so clearly.
In the time of King Solomon’s reign, the Queen of Sheba asked the smartest King in the world what does G-d do all day long?
King Solomon answered her that Hashem sits all day and makes shidduchim – matchmaking.
His answer seems so foolish in her eyes, and she commented that it’s impossible, matchmaking is so easy. She then took a large amount of men and the same amount of woman, made sure that all the couples would look exactly alike, and lined them up one opposite the other.
She then ordered the couples to be paired off and sent them away for the night, explaining to King Solomon how easy that was and how impossible it is that G-d sits and wastes his time doing something so trivial.
By the time the morning came none of the couples were talking to one another and the pairings were a complete disaster.
Since the time of King Solomon a lot has changed in the world and in the way we go about matchmaking. However, some things don’t really change, and what the Torah teaches us stays the same forever.
If the holy Torah compares matchmaking to the splitting of the sea, and King Solomon, the wisest man in the world, tells us that this is what G-d is busy doing day and night, we can understand how difficult and how miraculous it truly is when we hear of a couple getting together and deciding to marry and build a beautiful Jewish home together.
True that with each generation, new obstacles are there that weren’t relevant in the time of King Solomon. In its essences the dating scene today is quite different than thousands of years ago, and yet, it’s the same and always a miracle.
Recently there was a couple that I set up and the match was a success. The couple was overjoyed at the success, and kept on repeating to me what a wonderful matchmaker I was.
This thought made me smile and laugh in my heart. I knew and felt so clearly how it was completely Hashem’s doing. How many times did I or anyone of us suggest someone to meet another person, and yet nothing came of it.
Therefore, the fact that these two individuals “hit it off” left me understanding and feeling how this was Hashem’s doing and indeed what a miracle each time the match works, truly is.
I bless each and every one of us to keep suggesting and trying to match up any one we know.
Hashem is the one who performs the miracle of couples finding attraction in one another and falling in love. Hashem is the one who returns each soul to his or her soul mate.
Don’t work so hard to try and be the best matchmaker, after all it is G-d who is doing the hard work. Ours is to simply suggest and try to help everyone we know to go out. Because we don’t know who is really meant for each other.
May Hashem in his infinite wisdom and endless mercy, have compassion on all his children that have not yet found their other half, and may he match them all please G-d soon, in happiness and health forever, amen.
