The Bride Who Wouldn’t Let Go: A Story of Faith and Love

A young couple, recently engaged, came to visit the great Torah sage, Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known lovingly as the Steipler, author of Kehilot Yaakov. They asked for help canceling their engagement before the wedding.

The Steipler gently asked what had happened. The young man explained that not long after their engagement, he had been feeling unwell. After many medical tests, he received a frightening diagnosis: he had a serious illness, a life-threatening condition. Because he loved his bride-to-be deeply, he wanted to break off the engagement to spare her pain.

The rabbi turned to him and asked, “So why did you bring her with you?”

The young man answered, “Because she refuses to cancel the engagement!”

Turning to the bride, the Steipler asked kindly, “Do you understand what this means?”

With tears in her eyes, she answered softly, “Yes. I understand that we may face hardship, and we may not even have much time together. But I love him deeply. And I’m sure of one thing that no one in the world will care for him the way I will. And with the joy and love I bring him, I truly believe he will overcome this illness.”

The Steipler paused and then said gently, “Let me tell you a story.”

He began with a Midrash (a teaching from our Sages) in Bereishit Rabbah, connected to Parshat Noach. The story is about Alexander the Great, the famous conqueror. On one of his journeys, Alexander arrived at a country called Katzia. The king of Katzia came out with his ministers and offered peace to Alexander, surrendering without a fight. Alexander agreed and joined the king to observe how his people judged legal cases.

Soon, two men approached the king with a strange dispute. One had sold a piece of property, a ruin to the other. After the sale, the buyer found a hidden treasure buried there. But instead of claiming it, he insisted that the treasure belonged to the seller, saying, “I bought the ruin, not the treasure.” The seller disagreed. He said, “I sold the ruin along with everything inside it. The treasure belongs to you.”

Alexander was baffled and whispered to the king of Katzia, “In my kingdom, I would have killed them both and taken the treasure for the royal treasury.”

The king of Katzia replied, “If the sun shines in your land and you have food to eat, it's only because of the animals. What kind of justice is that?” Then he asked one man, “Do you have a son?” and the other, “Do you have a daughter?” They both answered yes. The king said, “Let your children marry each other and share the treasure between them.”

The Steipler looked at the couple before him and asked, “Why do our Sages tell us this story right in Parshat Noach? What is the deeper message?”

He continued, “The Torah tells us, ‘And Hashem remembered Noach, and all the animals and cattle with him in the ark.’ Why did Hashem remember Noach? Because he cared for every animal with love and self-sacrifice. He spent all his time during the flood feeding and tending to them without rest.”

“When there is kindness and giving from both sides,” the Steipler said warmly, “only blessing can come from it. Go get married. And I bless you with a good, healthy, and joyful life together.”

And so it was. The groom underwent further medical tests before the wedding. To everyone’s amazement, what had clearly shown up on the first tests had completely vanished in the second ones.

Thanks to the bride’s deep love and willingness to give, and the powerful blessing of the Steipler, the couple built a beautiful Jewish home and were blessed with righteous children.