Last week,�I�started my dear wife�s life story with what I�thought was most important:�How she made�shalom bayis�her most�important�mission in life.�Now however, I think we should start from the very beginning. My�shver, father in-law, Mr. Aharon�Gelbtuch,�Zt�l,�Zy�a, lived in Lemberg,�Poland. He was married to a fine woman of�Chassidishe background. In those days, many of the women played piano for personal�recreationand�relaxation. My shver�s wife, z�l, Hashem yinkom damah, may Hashem avenge her blood, was known as a piano phenom. But�as a�modest woman, she never performed. Somehow, the Nazis found out about her expertise and forced her one evening to come and play piano for a�group�of Nazis in a bar. With no choice, my father in-law took their�little�daughter with them and they went to a pub to perform for the Nazis. After she played the first song, the crowd was so mesmerized that they stood and gave her a standing ovation. This was too much for the Nazi commander to tolerate, and he took out his gun and,�in front of my father in-law,�he took out his gun and shot her in the face at point blank range. Still in a rage, he took�out�another�gun�fitted with�a�bayonet�and rammed it�into�their�young daughter�s chest, killing her as well on the spot. My shver would tell me that he doesn�t know why,�but they let him go home. �

He survived the war,�emigrated�to America, and as a 50 year–old, went out with a fine woman that was�about�the same age as he. They were ready to get married, but as a good chassidisheh�Yid, he went first to the Kapishnitzer�Rebbe,�Zt�l,�Zy�a, to ask�for his blessing. �The�Rebbe asked him how old the woman was and when he replied that she was in her early 50s, the Rebbe stunned him and told him that in no uncertain term�she could not marry her. When my shver asked why, he was told by the Rebbe that he must marry a�bas bonim, a woman of child bearing age,�so that he could rebuild what he has lost during the Holocaust. My shver persisted that he didn�t want to marry a younger woman and maybe have to leave her a young widow. The�Rebbe told him that we don�t involve ourselves in the secrets of�Hashem�but that he had to rebuild his family. So, as a loyal chossid, he listened and went out with my future�mother in-law, Devorah,�Zt�l,�Zy�a,�who was 17 years younger. My beloved wife, Miriam�Libby,�Zt�l,�Zy�a, was born when he was 59 years old.

The rest is history.�

We should reflect upon the fact that if my shver would have not�listened,�or even more importantly,�not asked, their�threedaughters�and countless grand-children�and great grand-children would never have come to be. How important it is to have a spiritual guide in our lives and to learn how to listen even when it�s difficult! Incidentally, my shver would outlive his wife, passing away in our home at the ripe old age of 82.�

May it be the will of�Hashem, in the merit of our having a Rav or other spiritual mentor,�that�we should be blessed with long�life, good�health, and everything�wonderful.�

Please learn, give tzedaka,�and daven�l�iluy�nishmas�of Miriam Liba bas�Aharon.

Sheldon Zeitlin takes dictation of, and edits, Rabbi Weiss�s articles.

Start the cycle of Mishna Yomis with Rabbi Weiss by dialing�718.906.6471. Or you can listen to his daily Shiur on Orchos Chaim�l�HaRosh by dialing�718.906.6400, then going to selection 4 for Mussar, and then to selection 4. � Both are FREE services.

Rabbi Weiss is currently stepping up his speaking engagements. �To bring him to your community, call�718.916.3100�or�email�RMMWSI@aol.com.

To receive a weekly cassette tape or CD directly from Rabbi Weiss, please send a check to Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, P.O. Box 140726, Staten Island, NY 10314 or�contact him�at�[email protected].

Now back in print is a large size paperback edition of Power Bentching. To order call him at�718-916-3100�or email at above.�

Attend Rabbi Weiss�s weekly shiur at the Landau Shul, Avenue L and East 9th�in Flatbush,�Tuesday�nights at�9:30 p.m.

Rabbi Weiss�s Daf Yomi and Mishnah Yomis shiurim can be heard LIVE on KolHaloshon at�(718) 906-6400. �Write to�[email protected]�for details. They can now also be seen on�TorahAnyTime.com.