Waiting for You | Rabbi Yechiel Spero

Forty two years ago, in the city of Bnei Brak, there was a wonderful Mishpacha, beautiful family. The boys, the girls, everybody was doing beautifully, except for one son, Avromi. He was struggling terribly in school, at home, with his friends, with his siblings. And then one day, he got into a big fight at home with some of his siblings, and he decided: That's it, I'm out of here. He went to his room, put a few things in a knapsack, and ran out the door. And they begged him: Please, Avromi, come back. but he was gone. And they were devastated, because to top it all off, it was Erev Pesach. With so much going on, and it was so hectic, now they have to deal with this, as well. And as they're grating the Marror and preparing the home, there were real tears, the parents were really crying. They hoped that he would come back soon, but he didn't. It was Pesach by night and the father davened by Lederman Shul with the Steipler Gaon. And he went over to the Steipler after davening and he said: Rebbi, what should I do? And the Steipler told him one word, להמתין Wait. He went home and instead of starting the Seder like everybody else, he waited and waited and waited. He and his family waited two hours. After two hours, he went back to the Steipler, this time to his house, and he asked the Steipler: What should I do? And the Steipler told him one word, להמתין Wait. It was two hours later, he's about to go out to the Steipler again, when there's a knock on the door. He opens the door and standing there, with his knapsack slung over his shoulders and tears brimming from his eyes, is Avromi. And he looks up at his father and he says, Abba, can I come home? Can I come back? And his father says: Of course, Avromi. And he brings him into the house. And Avromi looks and he sees on the couch and in the living room are all the siblings, the kids, the big ones, the little ones. And he looks at the table. Not a crumb of the Matzah on the table, not a drop of the wine in the Becher. And he looks at his father and he says, You waited for me. I can't believe you waited for me. And he said: Of course we waited for you. He fell into his father’s arms, and he never looked back. You know, by Vayimaen there is a Shalsheles. It’s a zigzag. And sometimes we try to get to the top, and we zig this way and zag that way. And we're trying and we're trying, but we're lost and we're searching and we fail time and time again. And we figure, You know what? The Ribono shel Olam’s moved on without us. He doesn't need us. But then we come knocking on the door and we're Misgaber, and we overcome like a lion. And we say: Ribono shel Olam, can we come home? And He says: Of course you can come home and of course I waited for you. Don't ever be deflated or defeated. We will all get there and Vayimaen gives us the opportunity to do so. May we all be Zoche, Im Yirtzeh Hashem, to find our way to the very top.