In This Community, Being Unmarried At 21 Is Considered Nebach

Rebbetzin Karn has been a role model for her 8 kids on how to face difficult challenges and persevere. Several years ago, her husband became handicapped and she was forced to single handedly raise her kids and put food on the table. She was largely successful though there wasn’t room for extras. Because she didn’t have the money to pay for a wedding, her son Shlomo Zalman only entered shidduchim at 21, even though in their community, the normal marriage age is younger.

Unable to continue pushing off this problem forever, a shidduch was redt with a wonderful Kallah who was excited to become a member of the Karn family. She especially looked up to her future mother in law as the type of person she aspires to be, minus the poverty. Unfortunately, the couple has had to put the wedding on hold indefinitely because they can’t pay for a simple wedding, the first few month’s rent for an apartment with basic furniture, or even a chasson suit for the chuppah. Mrs Karn is worried that her potential daughter-in-law’s family will lose interest in her son if the delays continue.To the Kallah’s credit, she hasn’t considered breaking off the marriage because this is the boy she wants to marry, but the stress is causing Shalom Bayis problems for both families and increasingly for the young couple themselves.The father, Rabbi Karn is deeply distressed because his disability prevents him from being able to contribute to getting his son married. Although in physical pain, his number one dream is to get out of his wheelchair and dance with his son at his wedding, though the longer it takes, the less chance his dream will be realized.

The Chasson and Kallah really want to get married and build a Jewish family based on a solid foundation of Torah and mitzvos. Since they are both resourceful and hardworking, there is little worry that they will be able to support themselves independently in the long run, but to get to the chuppah, they are dependent on Klal Yisrael. For helping this special couple, Hashem promises abundant reward in this world and the next, in addition to paying eternal dividends for each and everyone of the millions of mitzvahs their descendants, who were able to come into the world because of the wedding, will ever perform. To learn more about the opportunities afforded to donors of tax deductible donations, click here.