The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

It was Erev Shabbos Parshas Zachor in 2023 when Esther Jaffe, wife of Efraim, my next-door neighbor for thirty-three years, passed away.

Efraim is not just my next-door neighbor; our homes, built 110 years ago, are almost physically attached.

Our homes are so close that we can shake hands if we both extend our arms out our windows!

When Efraim sneezes, I automatically say, “tzu gezunt!”

Our children grew up together, and we are still very close.

His son Emmanuel and my son Tuvia have been best friends since they were infants.

When Esther passed, I decided Efraim would be part of our Shabbos table.

Soon, it became a Kevius, -a set ritual- and every Friday night, Efraim would join us for Shabbos Seuda.

As the summer arrived and our Seuda began later in the evening, it was usually just myself, my wife, and Efraim at the meal.

Winter arrived, and the first Yahrtzeit of Esther came.

As the months went on, Efraim became part of the family.

One Shabbos during the summer of 2024, Efraim informed us he had met Susan Buckler from Great Neck.

We were excited to meet her, and one Shabbos, Susan, joined us for the Seuda.

We were thrilled for Efraim as he and Susan were clearly a compatible and beautiful Shidduch.

I was touched when they announced their intent to get married in Yerushlayaim and asked me to Mesader Kiddushin.

I faced the pleasant yet unusual predicament of being asked to officiate at two weddings on the same night, albeit 6000 miles apart.

As the saying goes, “M’ken nisht tantzen oif tzvei Chasunas”- You can’t dance at two weddings.

Yet, with the gracious encouragement of the family whose wedding I was asked to officiate at on this side of the Atlantic, coupled with the lure of three married children in Eretz Yisroel, we booked our tickets eastbound.

The wedding was scheduled for Thursday, the 4^th of Kislev, at a quaint and charming restaurant in Yerushalayim.

As I arrived at the wedding venue, the serendipitous location caused my excitement to go up a notch.

The street on which the wedding would take place was Rechov Yoel Moshe Salomon- named after my great-grandfather- who lived just a few meters from where I stood.

It would also be the first time I would be Mesader Kiddushin for a son and then a father—in that order.

Just a few years before, I officiated at the Chasuna of Efraim’s son, Emanuel.

The wedding was ethereal, and many tears were shed as Efraim recited “Harei At Mekudeshes Li” and placed the ring on Susan’s finger.

As I looked at Efraim and Susan, I thought of many things.

The Simcha I felt was not of my next-door neighbor getting married; it felt more like the wedding of a loved one.

As I pondered my feelings and realized Efraim would now be making his new home with Susan and the Friday night Seudos together would no longer be, my feelings were similar to empty nest syndrome.

I realized that when Efraim joined us on Shabbos, it was not an act of “Chessed”; it was quite the opposite: I was gaining a brother.

As the epiphany took hold, I realized that Efraim's weekly presence at my Shabbos table did much more for me than it did for him.

He became a fixture at my Shabbos table, a yearned-for and necessary component of my Shabbos.

I would miss his weekly Shabbos Seuda enhancement.

As is often the case, when we do for others, we do much more for ourselves.

I recalled the week after Shiva when I felt good about myself as I invited Efraim for Shabbos.

I realized now that I was not inviting a guest to my home; rather, Efraim was gifting me the greatest gift of all, the gift of friendship.

And for that, I will be forever grateful.

Mazel Tov!