HMS: Matchmaker
7 August 2013
In the early 1950s, I came to the Rebbe with a group of young girls from Junior Hadassah. At that time Hadassah was a very popular women’s group, and Junior Hadassah was made up of the teenage daughters of the women who belonged to Hadassah.
Click here for full-color print version
Although I wasa newly-married bride at the time; not much older than these girls, I became the leader of the group in Worcester, Massachusetts. They used to come to our house, and I would teach them about Judaism.
I had told them about the Rebbe, and they wanted to see him in person, to hear him speak. At one point, we decided to go visit the Rebbe as a group. And one girl’s mother decided to come along with her daughter. The girl’s name was Estelle Greenberg, and her mother, Mrs. Greenberg, said that she, too, wanted to see the Rebbe.
It was a large gathering. Other groups of young people came that day as well, and the Rebbe spoke to all of them together. When there was a break in the program, Mrs. Greenberg requested a private audience with the Rebbe. She went in, and she was there for quite a while. When she came out, the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Hodakov, approached me and said, “Please, the Rebbe wants to see you. Go in and see the Rebbe.”
I was surprised that the Rebbe should want to see me, and I went in wondering, “What could it be?”
The Rebbe greeted me with a broad smile and said, “Mrs. Greenberg came to ask for a blessing so that her daughter should find a husband. I gave her a blessing, but she doesn’t believe me.” At that he laughed.And then he said to me, “Please see to it that you find a match for her daughter, and then your sister will find a match also.”
At that time, I had been bothering him to give my sister a blessing to get married. She was so choosey that it looked like there was no young man in this world who could ever meet all her qualifications. So I kept asking for a blessing for her.
When the Rebbe told me, “Find a match for her daughter and then your sister will find a match,” I immediately resolved to do so. But how?
770 Eastern Parkway
I asked the Rebbe, “Where should I look?”
The Rebbe smiled at me and replied, “Perhaps you’ll find her a match in one of the towns nearby or around Worcester.”
When I came out of the Rebbe’s office, Estelle and her mother were standing there, and Mrs. Greenberg was looking at me very sternly. She had asked the Rebbe for a blessing, she had received it, and now she wanted to see results. She was a wonderful lady; she really did believe in the Rebbe’s power to bring this about. And she expected her future son-in-law to materialize right there before her.
As soon as I returned to Worcester, first thing in the morning, I came to my husband’s yeshiva and I looked around. And all of a sudden I realized that he was right there. I had found Estelle’s husband.
A young man, Rabbi Weinberger, was teaching one of the classes. He was a rabbi in the nearby town of Clinton, Massachusetts. And I remembered the Rebbe’s words: “Perhaps you’ll find her match in one of the towns nearby…”
This had to be him!
I could hardly wait for the recess; I had to speak to him.
When he came out, I was waiting in the yard. I ran over to him and said, “Rabbi Weinberger, have I got a girl for you!” And I began to rave about her, urging him, “You must call her, you must go out with her, it’s a good match for you…”
He believed me. He took her name and number. He called her that night, and they started to go out. They liked each other, and by Yud Tes Kislev, they were engaged.
Kesuba
They came to the Rebbe for Yud Tes Kislev, because they were so excited. And I kept telling them, “The reason I introduced you is because the Rebbe told me to look for someone in a town near Worcester.”
They were very overwhelmed and impressed and happy.
I went to the Rebbe after that, and I said, “The Rebbe promised that
my sister will find a match if I find a match for Estelle Greenberg.”
And the Rebbe smiled and said, “Yes, she’ll find a match.”
Not long after that, she met the man who would be her husband.
Mrs. Rochel Fogelman and her husband Rabbi Hershel Fogelman, of blessed memory, have been Chabad emissaries in Worcester, Massachusetts, since 1947. She was interviewed in her home in July, 2008.
In honor of our dear Rebbe
by
Family Albahari Fuchs Shmuel and Miriam Finck
In the early 1950s, I came to the Rebbe with a group of young girls from Junior Hadassah. At that time Hadassah was a very popular women’s group, and Junior Hadassah was made up of the teenage daughters of the women who belonged to Hadassah.
Click here for full-color print version
Although I wasa newly-married bride at the time; not much older than these girls, I became the leader of the group in Worcester, Massachusetts. They used to come to our house, and I would teach them about Judaism.
I had told them about the Rebbe, and they wanted to see him in person, to hear him speak. At one point, we decided to go visit the Rebbe as a group. And one girl’s mother decided to come along with her daughter. The girl’s name was Estelle Greenberg, and her mother, Mrs. Greenberg, said that she, too, wanted to see the Rebbe.
It was a large gathering. Other groups of young people came that day as well, and the Rebbe spoke to all of them together. When there was a break in the program, Mrs. Greenberg requested a private audience with the Rebbe. She went in, and she was there for quite a while. When she came out, the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Hodakov, approached me and said, “Please, the Rebbe wants to see you. Go in and see the Rebbe.”
I was surprised that the Rebbe should want to see me, and I went in wondering, “What could it be?”
The Rebbe greeted me with a broad smile and said, “Mrs. Greenberg came to ask for a blessing so that her daughter should find a husband. I gave her a blessing, but she doesn’t believe me.” At that he laughed.And then he said to me, “Please see to it that you find a match for her daughter, and then your sister will find a match also.”
At that time, I had been bothering him to give my sister a blessing to get married. She was so choosey that it looked like there was no young man in this world who could ever meet all her qualifications. So I kept asking for a blessing for her.
When the Rebbe told me, “Find a match for her daughter and then your sister will find a match,” I immediately resolved to do so. But how?
770 Eastern Parkway
I asked the Rebbe, “Where should I look?”
The Rebbe smiled at me and replied, “Perhaps you’ll find her a match in one of the towns nearby or around Worcester.”
When I came out of the Rebbe’s office, Estelle and her mother were standing there, and Mrs. Greenberg was looking at me very sternly. She had asked the Rebbe for a blessing, she had received it, and now she wanted to see results. She was a wonderful lady; she really did believe in the Rebbe’s power to bring this about. And she expected her future son-in-law to materialize right there before her.
As soon as I returned to Worcester, first thing in the morning, I came to my husband’s yeshiva and I looked around. And all of a sudden I realized that he was right there. I had found Estelle’s husband.
A young man, Rabbi Weinberger, was teaching one of the classes. He was a rabbi in the nearby town of Clinton, Massachusetts. And I remembered the Rebbe’s words: “Perhaps you’ll find her match in one of the towns nearby…”
This had to be him!
I could hardly wait for the recess; I had to speak to him.
When he came out, I was waiting in the yard. I ran over to him and said, “Rabbi Weinberger, have I got a girl for you!” And I began to rave about her, urging him, “You must call her, you must go out with her, it’s a good match for you…”
He believed me. He took her name and number. He called her that night, and they started to go out. They liked each other, and by Yud Tes Kislev, they were engaged.
Kesuba
They came to the Rebbe for Yud Tes Kislev, because they were so excited. And I kept telling them, “The reason I introduced you is because the Rebbe told me to look for someone in a town near Worcester.”
They were very overwhelmed and impressed and happy.
I went to the Rebbe after that, and I said, “The Rebbe promised that
my sister will find a match if I find a match for Estelle Greenberg.”
And the Rebbe smiled and said, “Yes, she’ll find a match.”
Not long after that, she met the man who would be her husband.
Mrs. Rochel Fogelman and her husband Rabbi Hershel Fogelman, of blessed memory, have been Chabad emissaries in Worcester, Massachusetts, since 1947. She was interviewed in her home in July, 2008.
In honor of our dear Rebbe
by
Family Albahari Fuchs Shmuel and Miriam Finck
No Comments to “HMS: Matchmaker”