A Match Made in Heaven
Mr. Avi Dahan of New York wakes up at 5:00 a.m. every morning in order to learn Torah before beginning his workday.
One day, his son fell into a fire and miraculously escaped unhurt. As a form of thanksgiving, Mr. Dahan prepared a seudat hodayah. I was invited to participate. I happily accepted the invitation and offered words of inspiration to the participants. Afterward, I turned to Mrs. Dahan and asked her to take upon herself some resolution in Avodat Hashem.
The woman was astounded at my request. “Honored Rabbi,” she began. “My husband gets up extremely early every day. I am left to take care of my children all day long. Does the Rav think I am required to do any more than that?”
I heard what she said and offered words to encourage everything she does. But I added that she should, nevertheless, attempt to advance in her personal service of Hashem, especially in matters of tzeniut.
Mrs. Dahan, who is a ba’alat teshuvah, undertook to begin wearing skirts. In this manner, she strengthened her level of modesty in clothing. At this time, she told me that she would very much like to have a third child. I blessed her from the bottom of my heart that Hashem should fulfill her heart’s desire.
She added a request of some sort of sign that Hashem was watching over her. I asked what type of sign she wanted. She said that if she had another child, she would be short one chair of her set of kitchen chairs. It was impossible to find another chair which was a perfect match, but she really wanted this very badly.
Baruch Hashem, after a few short months, she discovered that she was expecting a baby. One day, she remembered our discussion about the chair. Then she put aside this thought and went out to work. She found a parking spot near her office on the Upper West Side and walked toward her workplace. Imagine her astonishment and glee at finding a pile of trash waiting to be collected at the side of the road, including an exact replica of her kitchen chairs, in perfect condition!
- The chair
Mrs. Dahan writes, “I was suddenly struck by the realization that Hashem knows exactly what I was going through, and how difficult it was for me every morning to cast aside my slacks for a skirt. But I did it, and now Hashem showed me His acknowledgment.”
Six months later, Mrs. Dahan gave birth to a baby boy. And which chair do you think they used as the chair of Eliyahu Hanavi? None other than that last kitchen chair, sent straight from Heaven.
