The three left the home and were on their way to Amukah. It wasn’t long before they took a right turn, went down a winding road, parked, and got out of the car. The girls helped their new friend make her way to the kever, and there, they all davened fervently, imploring Hashem to fulfill their deep desire for a husband and a home of their own.

Finally, they made their way back to the car for the journey home. They returned to the senior citizens home and accompanied Sara into the building with blessings for good health, long life, and that her prayers be answered. Then Racheli and Tamar were on their way.

Time went by, and while there were shidduch suggestions for both Racheli and Tamar, none of them worked out. After almost a year, the two young women were once again in the car on their way to Amukah.

“Let’s stop off to say hello to Sara,” Tamar said. “Maybe she wants to join us again!”

But when they got to the home, they couldn’t find their friend in the lobby or in the dining room.

“She’s not here anymore,” the receptionist said.

“Why not? What happened? Is she….”

The receptionist smiled. “She left because she got married. She’s living somewhere with her new husband.”

The two friends couldn’t believe it. “Is there a way we can reach her?” they asked, and they waited while the receptionist looked up her number.

Once outside, they called Sara immediately.

“Shalom,” Tamar said, when Sara answered. “It’s Tamar. I’m here with Racheli. We went with you to Amukah last year, and we’re here again today. We stopped by to say hello, and they told us that you’re married!”

“Yes, baruch Hashem,” Sara answered. “Why don’t you come over? I’ll be happy to see you. I live very close by.”

Once more the friends were on their way, this time to Sara’s home.

Sara ushered them into the living room. “Thank you for coming,” she said. “Have something to drink and some cookies.”

They sat down and made some small talk, but it was a bit awkward, because it seemed so strange how things had worked out.

Sara noticed. “You seem surprised,” she said. “After all, we all davened for a zivug, and yet you’re still single and I’m married.”

Slowly, the friends nodded.

“There’s a logical explanation,” Sara told them.

“There is?” said Tamar.

“Yes. When I asked you to take me along to Amukah so I could also daven for a zivug, I saw that you both kind of smiled. You must have thought, an old lady in a senior citizens home, what are her chances of meeting her zivug and marrying? On the other hand, you’re both young. For you to get married is logical. There are plenty of young men who would want to marry such fine, lovely girls like you.

“So when you davened at Amukah, you did it because you thought you would get married eventually, and you just wanted to speed up the process by davening that Rav Yonatan ben Uziel intercede on your behalf. You weren’t davening for a miracle. You thought you would get married anyway, even if you hadn’t davened there.

“But for me,” Sara continued, “the story was different. What were the chances that at my age I’d find a fine elderly man and live out the rest of my life in our own home? How many men are looking to marry an 80-year-old woman?

“And so,” Sara explained, “when I davened at Amukah, I davened to Hashem with the knowledge that only He could help me, only He could make my wish and desire come true. There was no logic, no statistics to back up my prayer. I couldn’t rely on a friend or shadchan. Only Hashem could help me, and I knew that. My prayers were totally to Him. I had no backup, no other way.”

Sara continued: “And when you depend totally on Hashem, it’s as if He says, ‘Oh, you know that only I can help you? I’ll show you that you’re right!’ And He helped me. He sent me the most wonderful man you can imagine. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Hashem answered my prayers far beyond my expectations because He knew that my prayers were the only thing that I believed could help, and because I knew that only Hashem could make this happen.”

Racheli and Tamar were left speechless. And embarrassed that Sara had noticed their smiles.

Because Sara was right, of course. It wasn’t logical that Sara’s prayers for a zivug would be answered. But the world isn’t run by logic; the world is run by Hashem. And Sara’s new, blissful marriage was proof.

The young women thanked Sara for her words and turned to go. Still on the way to Amukah, but with a different mindset.

And b’ezras Hashem, this time their prayers will be answered.  

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 856)