The Wedding Dress that Became a Miracle.

The Power of a Kind Act
Our family is in the midst of “wedding fever”. Hashem has blessed us with the recent Melbourne wedding of our son Mendel to Leah Malka, as well as the upcoming wedding of our son Ephraim and Basheva in Johannesburg.

It’s a revolving door of suitcases, clothes and simchas! Anyone who has ever travelled for a family wedding will agree it is no small feat. There are logistics to juggle, luggage (and more luggage), dresses (and more dresses), seating plans, meals, speeches and a healthy dose of nervous energy. Still, these are the kinds of “problems” we should all be so lucky to have! There is nothing quite like the joy of celebrating a simcha surrounded by those you love.

All this wedding excitement reminded me of a story I shared in shule about a prominent Jewish businessman from New York. Steve Savitsky was travelling on business from NYC to Columbus with his non-Jewish colleague, Gregg Petit. As they waited to board, they noticed a young woman, Mary McGuire, pleading with airline staff to allow her to carry a huge garment bag on board. Inside was her wedding gown. The airline refused, insisting she check it in. But her wedding was in two days, and she couldn’t risk the dress being lost or damaged. She was visibly distraught.

While most passengers looked away, Savitsky paused: “There must be a reason Hashem has put this before me.” He approached the counter and offered to swap his two seats, so that he, his colleague, and the bride could sit together and lay the gown safely across their laps. The airline eventually agreed.

His colleague Gregg smiled and said, “I’ll do it, but only on one condition: give me a kippah too. I want to be part of doing something good and give credit to the Jewish people.”

The two men, both wearing kippot, sat through the flight with the wedding gown stretched across their laps. The story quickly spread throughout the plane, including the cockpit. Upon take off, the pilot announced:

“Congratulations to Mary McGuire on her upcoming wedding! And a special thank you to Rabbi Savitsky and Rabbi Petit for their wonderful act of kindness that made this possible.”

As passengers disembarked, a woman approached Savitsky and said “today, you made me proud to be a Jew. To see two kippah-wearing men helping someone when no one else did, completely restored my faith.”

Savitsky was right – there was a reason he was at that gate, at that airport, at that moment. Hashem had placed him there for a purpose. There is always a purpose.

It’s a powerful way to live – to look at every moment, every encounter, as divinely orchestrated. Imagine if paused amid our daily rush – at an airport, on a plane, in a queue, in traffic, or at a crowded supermarket, and asked ourselves, “Why did Hashem put me here right now? What act of kindness can I do in this moment?”

That’s the essence of living as a Jew – walking through life with awareness, knowing that wherever you are, you’re on a mission. Every stop on the journey is an opportunity for purpose.

I thought about this story not only because we too were schlepping our wedding wardrobes through airports, but more importantly because this week’s Torah portion focuses on the story of another beloved bride travelling for her wedding – our matriarch Rivkah. It’s doubtful she had to schlepp a wedding dress on a flight, but we can assume she had similar luggage issues on her camel.

Rivkah’s story begins when Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, stops by a well and prays to find the right wife for Yitzchak. Rivkah appears and not only offers him water but also, unprompted, draws water for all ten of his camels “until they have finished drinking.” A kind but laborious task indeed!

Like Savitsky, Rivkah was in the right place, at the right time, doing exactly what Hashem needed her to do. Her kindness changed the course of history.

Interestingly, “kindness” has been a buzzword even in the secular world this week. Warren Buffett, the 95-year-old “Oracle of Omaha,” released his final letter to shareholders, a reflection less about markets and more about life’s meaning. It included short maxims to live by, such as “decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.” But there was one line in particular that is destined to become a classic Buffett quote: “Kindness is costless but also priceless.”
It costs nothing to care, to smile, to offer help, yet its impact can ripple across hearts, across generations.

I can’t help but think: this is what our people have always been about. Building homes filled with kindness. Passing on the torch of compassion and faith from one generation to the next.

Because in the end, it’s not the dresses or the speeches or even the excess luggage that matters. It’s the quiet acts of goodness that turn ordinary moments into holy ones.

And maybe that’s the secret of living a Jewish life with purpose. That when we look beyond ourselves, when we see why Hashem has placed us here and now, we discover that every journey, every encounter, every suitcase and simcha, is an opportunity to do something meaningful. To add just a little more kindness and light to the world.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Levi and Chanie Wolff