Ingratitude of the First Degree
A non-orthodox young Jewish man spent long years seeking his life partner. But he never met with success. Every week, he would come to me, asking for my blessing. But it seemed as if a power of negativity surrounded him, repelling all young women from wishing to marry him, in spite of his extremely good looks. In his utter distress, and with no other option, he decided to become a ba’al teshuvah.
A short time afterward, he merited finding a nice, religious girl, who was an accountant. Before their marriage, they visited me, asking for my blessing and offering an invitation to their wedding. I blessed them wholeheartedly and reminded them to observe the halachot of taharat hamishpachah. To my great disappointment, the man said that although his kallah was interested in this, he didn’t feel capable of adhering to the strict laws involved, abstaining from his wife for two weeks each month.
Shocked at his words, I rebuked him severely. Sadly to say, he did not accept my message. Nevertheless, I went to the wedding. I thought that perhaps my presence at this auspicious event would move something within him. Maybe he would be stirred to rethink his decision.
Noting his resolve to maintain his former position, I was filled with a sense of pain. Hashem had held his hand along his entire journey until this point. But instead of continuing in his path of teshuvah, he stopped short. Instead of recognizing Hashem’s goodness and demonstrating gratitude, he discarded a basic mitzvah. How terrible is the trait of ingratitude, allowing a person to completely ignore all the good he was given and ignore Hashem’s will!
