Sick and Tired of Dating...

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The years passed and Yisca was unsuccessful in finding her match. Propositions continued to flow in from various directions, but she felt she was growing sick and tired of the dating scene. She meets a new guy with high hopes, but after a rendez-vous or two, the energy dissipates: either she or he is not interested, or both.

Yisca felt she needed divine intervention, without which she couldn't continue much longer.

She began a period of intensive prayer. She filled her shemonah esrei (silent devotion) with lengthy personal inserts, meditated alone for hours, and visited the tombs of tzadikim (righteous saints) all over Israel, especially the tomb of Yonatan Ben Uziel, whose grave site is, according to tradition, imbued with special powers to help one find his/her spouse.

Amuka - the tomb of Yonatan Ben Uziel in the north

The new guys kept coming and going.

Yisca lost hope and didn't know what to do. All her efforts brought no results, and her multitude of prayers didn't deliver the prince on a white horse. "What more can I do, Master of the Universe, that I haven't already done," she asked.

One Shabbat morning, Yisca felt that she had reached the end. She was broken. "How much more can I suffer? What can I do to convince Hashem (G-d) that I have no strength left for another date," she thought to herself.

The answer suddenly came to her: "I will hold a demonstration in front of Hashem like protesters do in front of the Prime Minister's residence!" But where does one hold such a protest? Yisca figured that the best place to demonstrate would be in front of the remnants of Hashem's official residence - the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

"I am coming to demonstrate against you at the Western Wall," Yisca declared to Hashem. "You must understand that I have no strength left. I will not leave until you deliver me my match - the true one meant for me.  Until what age can I live with my parents, and watch their sorrow and pain?" A tear formed on her cheek, as she reviewed the reasons for the protest.

After the Shabbat morning meal, Yisca informed her mother that she was walking to the Western Wall to pray there.

"Are you out of your mind," shrieked the alarmed mother, "to walk from Mevasseret Tziyon to the Western Wall? Do you know how far it is? It's over 9 miles (15 kilometers)!"

"I don't care mother," Yisca responded forcefully. "I am going to pray that I get married soon."

"OK, that's fine to pray at the Western Wall, but wait until the end of Shabbat on Saturday night when you can take the first bus," the mother reasoned.

"No!" insisted the daughter. "I want Hashem to see that I am broken. I have already prayed at the Western Wall numerous times, and I still don't have a ring on my finger."

"But there is a heat wave today. You may faint," the mother said hoping to register with her daughter's common sense.

"Don't worry, mother. I'll be OK."

The mother's plea fell on deaf ears, and Yisca was on her way. She started walking along the highway past Motza towards Jerusalem. The uphill was intense, and she felt the heat. She paused to drink from her water bottle, and continued completely determined to reach the entrance to Jerusalem, cross town on Jaffe Street to the Old City, and finally make the descent to the Western Wall - the gates of prayer to heaven.

Women praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

"I will convince You Hashem that my time has come to get married," she muttered to herself adding, "This time I won't budge until you answer me."

The uphill climb combined with the heat was debilitating. Yisca's water bottle was empty. She closed her eyes and began to feel dizzy. Before she understood what was happening to her, she lost consciousness and keeled over on the side of the Jerusalem Highway. A driver saw her on the ground and called for an ambulance which arrived in minutes.

A Magen David volunteer named Ariel began treating the unconscious young woman and raised her, together with a colleague, on a stretcher and into the ambulance. On the way to hospital, she opened her eyes and began coming back to herself. Ariel gave her cold water to drink.

"May I ask what you were doing walking to Jerusalem," Ariel inquired. Yisca didn't know what to answer, and after a moment of silence, told him the truth: "I was on my way to the Western Wall to pray."

"But what was so urgent? Why on Shabbat," asked the young volunteer who was wearing a knitted yarmulka on his head.

Bewildered, Yisca smiled and didn't answer.

Her determination impressed the young man, and he engaged her in conversation until their arrival at the hospital. Ariel escorted her inside and saw to it that she receive immediate treatment. He returned to the Magen David base to await further emergency calls.

A few days passed, and Yisca's cellular phone rang. A girl on the other end introduced herself as Ariel's cousin and asked in his name if Yisca would agree to go out with him on a date. "Yes, yes, absolutely," Yisca answered without a moment's hesitation.

A few months later, Ariel and Yisca stood together under the chuppah (wedding canopy) in Jerusalem.

[See also: Save Yourself From the Singles Swamp]

The above story was published in the Feb. 14, 2013 edition of Besheva Newspaper, published by the Arutz Sheva group.

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