The doctor looked at the test results, at Reb Nachum, and back at the results. Reb Nachum felt his heart plummeting. “Not   yet,”   he   said   finally,   slowly.   Even   without   the interpreter, Reb Nachum understood the answer. 

“Tell  him  I  won’t  make  it,”  he  said,  almost  pleading,  to the interpreter at his side. “Tell him I have a son who is engaged and I want to be at the wedding. Just that. I want to live a little bit longer, until my son’s wedding.” Tears blinded his eyes.

Nearly a month later, Reb Nachum returned his soul to its Creator. Alone in a foreign country, far from his loving, concerned family, far from the chassan who awaited his return so eagerly.

Thirty  days  have  passed  and  the  wedding  date  is  fast approaching.

There  is  nothing.  Simply  nothing,  save  for  a  mountain of debt Reb Nachum has left behind. He’d been working hard to repay his debts when the disease had struck and he’d  been  sent  abroad  for  urgent  treatment.  No  one  had thought the end would be so bitter. Everything had been left in the middle, waiting for Reb Nachum to come back and  tie  up  loose  ends.  Tragically,  that  day  never  came.

How  can  this  wedding  be  turned  into  one  of  happiness and joy?

These are the sorts of stories that come in to the Kupat Ha’Ir offices on a daily basis. They are painful, the level of suffering boggles the mind.

It is easy, when faced with so much tragedy, to become desensitized. One individual who has, against all odds, continued to keep his heart open to the stories is beloved Gadol Rav Shimon Galai shlit”a.

This is why Rav Galai has chosen to continue to give his public support to Kupat Ha’Ir’s orphan wedding funds. This month, 36 orphans are getting married. Rav Galai gives his bracha to all who donate to Kupat Ha’Ir’s Tammuz orphan wedding fund that they should, midah k’neged midah, merit to have nachas from their own children. 

In today’s world, this is a tremendously important bracha. And, as far as the Rav is concerned, it is a fitting bracha for this tremendously important cause.

You can help preserve the legacy of Reb Nachum and the other parents who have passed away, by raising their children to the chuppah in their absence. This is a priceless gift, both for the giver and the receiver. The days are counting down until the orphans’ chuppahs. Readers can donate now to give the orphans what they need.