Subjugate Your Will Before His

Rav Chaim Volozhiner, the famed talmid muvhak of the Vilna Gaon, had his eye on one of the stars of his yeshivah, Hillel Harodner, as a potential husband for his daughter, who was somewhat hearing impaired. As fate would have it, Hillel’s mother was coming to Volozhin to check on her son, and Rav Chaim decided it was an opportune time to suggest the shidduch.

To Rav Chaim’s great disappointment, Hillel’s mother was not interested, and she proceeded to head back home. Or so she intended. Her journey was halted when a wheel fell off her wagon, forcing the driver to stop and fix it. A short while later an axle broke, forcing another time-consuming repair. If these mishaps were not enough, one of the horses suddenly died, leaving the wagon stranded on the road. The woman made her way back to Volozhin, convinced the holy Rav Chaim had a hand in this.

She approached the great tzaddik and exclaimed, “Do you want to take him by force?”

Rav Chaim assured her he truly had nothing to do with her misfortune and encouraged her to return home, which she did.