From The Wedding by Joseph Levine Chapter 20

From the Wedding
by Joseph Levine
Chapter 20

I am with my mother in the house. A match is proposed to me and I humor them.

No name rings as sweet as the name, "Mama". No word appeals to the heart as the word "home". If one were to gain an appreciation of the home, one should, at least for a short while, leave home and wander in a strange place, then return home to his own nest. Then everything appears different and has a new charm. Everything becomes twice as precious. One feels like a changed person; a newborn in the world.

That is how it was when I came home. First I toured the whole town. I walked through every street and looked at every house and store. The folks that I greeted had aged a little. They gave me a friendly welcome. Some were overjoyed. I was also very friendly to everyone. The young children that I had left behind had grown. And I was assured that I had also matured and filled out. And everyone marveled at my German clothes.
Women and men approached me to become my matchmaker and I humored them. I told them that this one I don't need, and that one is not attractive (in Germany I had seen much prettier) and the other one had no money. I was the "good catch" since I had a white card.

When I realized that I could not free myself from them, I told them that their task was an impossible one, as I already had a wife chosen. She was my pre-destined wife since we were children. She had waited for me the entire time. The truth was that she had not waited for me. We had not been in love and, in the past year when I was away, she had met several suitors. However, none of them had been suitable. Her father had hoped and convinced her that I would return. From the time we were children -- our parents houses were attached, and they were very close friends, like brothers and sisters -- they always said that we were a match. They had waited. So, one fine morning, Reb Lazer, from Kovel , came to my house. ...