Paid In Full | Rabbi Shlomo Landau

There was a young boy who grew up in a Sephardic home that was steeped in tradition, but not so much in Shmiras Hatorah V’hamitzvos. But as he grew older, he got more and more into his Torah, and his Mitzvos, and his Yiddishkeit, and he became a real Ben Torah. By the time he got into Shidduchim, he was going out with girls from amazing Torahdike homes. He got engaged with hopes and dreams and aspirations, of building a home that was steeped in Torah and in Yirah. The problem was when he sat down with his parents to discuss how the wedding would be, all the wedding plans. His parents stated unequivocally that if they're paying, the wedding is going to be their type of wedding. No Mechitzah. Not so careful with Kedusha, with mixed dancing and stuff like that. He said, “I can't. This is my wedding.” They said, “Listen, if we're paying, it's going to be the way we want it. “You don't like it, you pay for your own wedding.” He had no choice, so he says, “Okay, “I'll pay for my own wedding. That's what I'll do.” But as it got closer and closer to the wedding and he didn't have the money, he began to panic more and more. He was short $8,000. One day he had to go to New York City for an appointment. As he's walking in New York City, He's hit with this incredible challenge of Shmiras Ha’einayim, and he does what all of us should be doing. He begins to look downwards and not around him. He pulls out his phone and he's speaking to his Rebbe, and he’s sharing how difficult and how challenging it is. He needs $8,000 and the wedding is in just a few weeks. And all of a sudden he says, “Rebbe, one second.” As he's looking down, he sees a crack in the pavement. As he looks into the crack in the pavement, he sees something sparkling. He bends down, he picks it up, and he sees that it's a necklace with a diamond pendant. And it says on the back of it, “Tiffany & Co”. He picks it up. He finds Tiffany and Co in Manhattan. He walks into the store. He shows it to one of the salespeople there. And they look at it and they’re like, “Wow, that's an expensive piece.” They polish it, they dust it off. He says, “I just found it on the street”. They're like, “What are you going to do with it?” He goes, “I don’t know.” They said, “We’ll buy it back!” He says, “How much will you give me?” “Eight thousand dollars.” He was careful with Shmiras Ha’einayim. He was careful with Inyanim of Kedusha. He was Moser Nefesh for the appropriate standards. And on the spot, while he was speaking about his challenges, The Ribono Shel Olom paid him back. I don't know that we're all going to get $8,000 diamonds and lockets in this world for Shmiras Ha’einayim. But in Shomayim, We're going to get Schar that’s worth so much more than the most incredible diamond and the most incredible locket that exists in this world.