In a powerful and emotionally charged address delivered on Chol Hamoed, the Rebbe of Shevet Levi issued a stark warning to parents, urging vigilance in guiding their children to proper chassan and kallah instructors before marriage.
The Rebbe’s remarks came during a special derashah to parents and yungeleit, delivered on the day following the tenth yahrtzeit of his grandfather, Rav Shmuel Wosner zt”l, author of Shevet Halevi.
The talk, deeply rooted in the Torah outlook of his revered grandfather, focused on foundational guidance for building a kosher Jewish home. Addressing the struggles many parents face as their children reach marriageable age, the Rebbe spoke candidly about the widespread delays in shidduchim and the growing phenomenon of older single men and women within the community.
He attributed this troubling reality in part to the sharp decline in the number of active shadchanim. “There’s a serious shortage,” he noted, “and one reason is that people don’t treat shadchanim with the respect they deserve. There’s often a dismissive attitude, and we fail to compensate them fairly.”
The Rebbe implored the public to change their perspective and elevate the status of shadchanim, both in how they are regarded and how they are remunerated. “We must give them kavod,” he emphasized, “and pay them more than what has, until now, been customary.”
Another point of concern he raised was the distorted priorities some parents have when searching for a match. “Many times,” he said, “parents are looking for a shidduch that matches their criteria—status, money, or social image—rather than what is truly suitable for their son or daughter.”
As the drashah drew to a close, the Rebbe shifted his focus to a deeply distressing matter he said had come to his attention in recent months.
“There is a breach,” he stated solemnly, “a dangerous breach. Some chassanim and kallahs are going to instructors who distort the sanctity of the Jewish home. They twist the Torah’s view—both in outlook and in halachah—to align with foreign values, Rachmana litzlan. This is not the mesorah passed down from generation to generation.”
He called upon parents to be scrupulous in verifying the credentials and yiras Shamayim of the instructors to whom they entrust their children. “It is an absolute obligation,” he stressed, “to send our children only to upright, Torah-true, G-d-fearing guides as they prepare to establish their homes.”
{Matzav.com Israel}