The snow has melted the mishloach manos pile is depleted and the sound of the vacuum is in the air as the scent of Fantastik fills my nostrils. All this can mean only one thing: Pesach is here.

Time for countless drashos and selling chometz; answering questions and dealing with stress. Almost every free moment I can steal away from the phone is spent cloistered in my office poring over seforim and doing my best to be original creative and witty while simultaneously informative.

I particularly struggle with how to strengthen our belief in “L’Shanah ha’ba’ah bi’Yerushalayim Next year inJerusalem.”

As the long bitter galus continues unabated while Jews have declared with complete belief that “next year they will be in Yerushalayim” I wonder how I can give hope and encouragement and foster continued belief that any moment a “new-and-improved” reality can be at hand.

I constantly look for sources indicating how the Geulah can occur in the most unlikely and unexpected of ways. Too often my day is spent dealing more with sorrow and unfulfilled dreams than with stories of redemption. Couples struggling with shalom bayis. Parents grappling with raising their children in a world of unspeakable temptations and pitfalls. As they all come to see me it’s often difficult to see the shining sun of Yerushalayim amid the clouds and haze of hardship and pain.

The pain of childless couples is the toughest for me. And Pesach with its focus on the children is achingly hard for those couples who have no one to sing the Mah Nishtanah to them.

Therefore when the phone rang and Breindy Bernstein was on the line I gave her my full attention.

Breindy and Shloimie Bernstein are quiet unassuming “low maintenance” members. Breindy was a sheitelmacher and Shloimie sells insurance. Already in their 50s they had not been blessed with children. Breindy asked if they could come see me as soon as possible. I told them to come right over.

Shloimie began the conversation by asking me if it’s permissible to make a wedding right after Pesach before Rosh Chodesh. I wondered why they were asking what seemed a totally hypothetical question.

Breindy said “Rabbi I know you’re wondering why we’re asking you this.” I nodded. She continued. “About a year ago we received a call from a friend. They told us about Shaindy a girl growing up in a dysfunctional family who needed a place to live away from home. Our name was suggested and we decided to take Shaindy in. Shaindy flourished and last night she told us she’s getting engaged. She then asked Shloimie and me to walk her down to the chuppah.”

I sat there in utter amazement. However before I could even react Breindy continued. “Rabbi just last year I was thinking to myself “Hashem why are my friends planning their children’s weddings while my husband and I sit home alone? When will our turn come to walk someone we love to the chuppah? And now just a year later we are making a chasunah. Rabbi you never know; one moment I was sad and depressed over my situation and today I’m going shopping with the kallah for a gown I’m picking out flowers for the chuppah and meeting with band leaders and photographers. Suddenly I’ve become a maven on how to rent a hall and how to bargain for the best prices. And do you know what? I love every minute of it! Look how quickly a situation can change!”

I looked at Breindy and Shloimie through tear-filled eyes. All my drashos had been prepared before my eyes.