Author: ArtScroll Staff

Looking for a shidduch for your child, your best friend, your chavrusa — or maybe even yourself?

Send out those resumes. Contact those shadchanim. Network among neighbors, relatives, and friends. Power up that hishtadlus, and redt as many shidduchim as you can.

But don’t forget to do what Jews do best.

Turn to emunah.

With more than 300,000 copies in print, the Living Emunah series has taken us on quite a remarkable journey. Along the way we’ve learned to deepen our trust in Hashem. To see His loving intervention in every aspect of our lives. To understand that even the challenges, the hard stuff, are sent to help us grow in ways we could never have imagined.

In Living Emunah on Shidduchim, Rabbi David Ashear takes us into the challenging world of shidduchim. The Talmud likens finding a spouse to Kriyas Yam Suf (Sanhedrin 22a), and nowadays it seems that so many of our loved ones are waiting for that raging sea to split for them.

How can we stay calm and tranquil when the wait to find a shidduch for ourselves or people we love sometimes seems endless? How should a person react in the face of disappointment or rejection? How do we find the proper balance between hishtadlus and emunah? With sensitivity, compassion, and — of course! — emunah, Living Emunah on Shidduchim guides us through the “parashah” of shidduchim.

As in all his bestselling books, Rabbi Ashear combines Torah insights with real-life stories that show how Hashem is the Master Shadchan, and how trusting in Him brings great reward. We see how, indeed, Hashem’s salvation can come in the blink of an eye, as it does in many shidduchim.

A 36-year-old woman shared her story with Rabbi Ashear, saying, “When the right man finally came along, because the time was finally right, Hashem guided me through the process so easily …  it was just the time that Hashem knew was right and He brought it about in a very simple way …. I don’t know why Hashem wanted me to wait so many years, but that’s fine. It’s okay not to understand Hashem; we’re only human.”

Yes, we’re only human but, as we see in every page, every story in Living Emunah on Shidduchim, we are Jews who trust Hashem. And we know He will split the sea for us, at the right time.

Buy your copy of Living Emunah on Shidduchim today on ArtScroll.com!

AS: You wrote Incredible, Living Legend, The Rebbetzin, and now 90 Seconds — four  amazing books about four powerful, unique and incredibly successful personalities. What are some of the traits that Rabbi Wallis, Rabbi Grossman, Rebbetzin Jungreis, and Reb Eli Beer share, which allowed them to accomplish so much?

RNS: All of them were willing to jump into situations that other people would have stayed away from, and none of them would not take no for an answer. And, of course, they all  dreamed big and were not afraid to work hard to turn those dreams into reality

AS: Since he was 14 years old, Eli Beer has devoted himself to saving lives, and 90 Seconds is full of dramatic rescue stories. Can you briefly share the one that touched you most?

RNS: It’s not quite a rescue, but I was very touched by Eli’s account of identifying Dr. David Applebaum as one of the terror victims when Dr. Applebaum and his daughter Naava were killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem, on the night before Naava was to be married. Eli was very close with Dr. Applebaum and he literally couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he found him beyond help in the restaurant. Eli’s only son was born just a few days later, and he was named partially for David Applebaum.

AS:  What are some takeaways the average reader will get from reading about Eli’s life and accomplishments?

RNS: Don’t worry if you aren’t successful in school. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, so long as you learn from them. Think big.

AS: Intriguing title, 90 Seconds. Can you explain what it refers to and why you chose it for Eli Beer’s memoir?

RNS: Eli’s dream has always been to be able to reach any emergency in the entire country in under 90 seconds. That is his goal and his mission statement and in my opinion it sums up his life and accomplishments in a very clear and dramatic way.

Everyone loves stories.

They engage our attention. They inspire and educate, show us truths that we may overlook in the rush and scramble of today’s life, and — let’s admit it — they’re so much fun to read!

Here is a look at two new not-to-be-missed story collections.

Rabbi Yechiel Spero has been engaging and inspiring us with his stories for almost twenty years. In There’s More to the Story: A Treasure Trove of Precious Stories, we will meet the man who ran the world’s most grueling marathon — in his bedroom, where he was trapped by Covid-19. An elderly woman who’d rejected her teacher, Sarah Schenirer, and who finds her way back to Yiddishkeit almost seven decades later, with the help of a young Bais Yaakov student. We’ll read about a Holocaust survivor who told the judge he’d earned his doctorate — in the university of life, and a mix-up that sent a gorgeous three-layered cake to a young boy’s classroom siyum and ensured he would stay Torah-observant many years later. The stories in this collection are, indeed, a treasure trove, gems sparkling with emunah, ahavas Yisrael, and the power of prayer and hashgachah pratis.  

In Living Chessed, Rabbi Avrohom Asher Makovsky shares with us many Torah sources that discuss chessed, inspirational insights and guidance. Above all, he brings the concepts of chessed to life through stories of how chessed can transform the lives of both the giver and receiver. We will read about how the Tzemach Tzedek “opened” the gates of heaven — by racing home to help another Jew in business. How a man fulfilled his dream of having children — by opening a free-loan gemach. We will enjoy — and learn from! — story after story of people who took the opportunity to help someone, often with something as simple as a hug, a compliment, or even just a smile.

As we enter the pre-Pesach and Pesach season, with all its excitement, energy and, yes, stress, there is nothing like a really good story to keep us invigorated, to calm us when we’re feeling overwhelmed, and to assure us that we can reach higher, dig deeper, and be the best people we can be.

AS: How did your relationship with Rav Chaim and the entire Kanievsky family begin?

RNW: I started going to Rav Chaim in the mid 1990’s. In the late 1990’s, while he was guiding me through a personal matter, I would see him at least once a week. And for 28 years, though I don’t live in Eretz Yisrael, I would visit his home at least four or five times a year.

AS: We’ve already heard so many stories about Rav Chaim, yet this biography contains so many new stories and rare photos. How did you find them?

RNW: I spent many hours with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I also did an extensive interview with his only surviving sibling, Rebbetzin Yuspa Barzam, and with his driver for more than 30 years, R’ Shaya Epstein, as well as with his fellow members of Kollel Chazon Ish, where Rav Chaim studied for several decades. The Kanievsky family graciously provided never-before-published photos of Rav Chaim as an infant, as a youngster, and from right after his bar mitzvah, as well as historical documents.

AS: Your biography of Rebbetzin Kanievsky sold more than 40,000 copies, and the new biography sold more than 15,000 copies in less than a week. How does it feel, to be influencing tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands?

RNW: I am just a reporter; it’s Rav Chaim who is influencing us. Rav Chaim sacrificed the thing that was most important to him — his time in learning Torah — to uplift others. From when he was a young avrech in kollel, till he passed away, he was available and accessible to every single person every day of the year. In his later years, hundreds of people visited him weekly to discuss personal matters or merely to bask in his presence. He positively impacted and changed the lives of thousands worldwide. Many of those people therefore feel very connected to him.

AS: A world without Rav Chaim — it’s difficult for you personally, and for all of Klal Yisrael. Can you share some words of chizuk?

RNW: The primary topic discussed in the book is Rav Chaim’s incredible middos tovos and how he dedicated himself to assist so many individuals. We can all learn from him to be there to help others. We can also try to replicate his incredible diligence in Torah study. This will be the most befitting tribute to his memory.