The Positive Fallouts of a Fall
On a trip abroad, a couple came to me, on the brink of divorce. They were entrenched in conflict and contention. I tried my best to negotiate some sort of compromise, but in spite of my efforts, I did not succeed.
This couple owned an enormous factory. They had failed to install a fence where one was necessary, and a worker fell and was killed. The husband was terribly shaken that this had happened on his property. He related the entire incident to me.
I roundly rebuked him for carelessly transgressing the mitzvah of (Devarim 22:8), “You shall make a fence for your roof, so that you will not place blood in your house.” I continued, “You must know that one sin causes another. Since your marital harmony is so deficient, because you constantly quarrel with your wife, Hashem arranged that this employee find his end in your factory. Who knows what the future holds. Maybe, chas v’shalom, a family member will also fall from that spot.”
That very night, only a few hours later, the couple came to me in tears. Their young son had also fallen from there, but, with Heavenly mercy, remained alive.
This incident awakened them to do complete teshuvah for all of their deeds. Peace and Hashem’s Presence once again found a haven in their home.
