Dear Dr. Yael:
I was quite impressed with your February 14 column, “The Frustrating Search For A Shidduch.” Here is my story.
I was your client about 25 years ago. I was a 26-year-old frum woman who was getting rejected after every date. We talked about my amazing parents, who had a great marriage. I was seemingly confident with many friends and a good career.
You couldn’t find any psychological reason for these rejections, which were definitely beginning to destroy my self-confidence. Then, after two sessions, you told me something that you acknowledged was hard for you to say: I had a great figure and dressed well, but the only thing wrong with me was that I had a very long nose with a huge bump. You asked me if I would consider plastic surgery, and said that you would first have to speak to my rav.
I was appalled, thinking that someone young and very pretty with a great nose had the chutzpah to tell me – who came for therapy in order to deal with the pain of all my rejections – that you wanted to speak to my rav about the possibility of my getting a nose job. I left crying, thinking I would never see you again. My problem, though, was that I really liked you. I had gone to other therapists, and found that you really seemed to care.
I thought this was a crazy solution to my dilemma, and knew that my rav would agree with me since plastic surgery was against halacha. I didn’t tell my parents, since I was able to afford the therapy sessions and surgery (if I chose that route) on my own. I did, however, tell my rav about what had transpired and that you wished to speak to him. My very caring rav, impressed with your reputation for helping singles get married and helping others save their marriages, told me that he wanted to speak to you directly. For my part, I told him that I never wanted to go back to you even though you seemed very caring, uplifting, and smart. After all, I thought that having a nose job was a crazy idea.
After my rav called you and despite having no more scheduled appointments with you, I returned to your office to sign a release form. While there, I explained that my intention all along was to seek your advice on how to best deal with constant rejection, not to be told to have plastic surgery. You asked me to consider focusing on getting rid of my feelings of rejection and concentrating on finding an amazing chassan. I simply nodded, and signed the form.
Following our conversation, my rav asked to meet with me and my parents. He told us that after speaking with you for a while and following a consultation with his rav, he agreed with you and gave me a p’sak to have the surgery performed by the best surgeon available. He instructed me to again receive therapy from you until I found my chassan.
My parents, having been guided by this chashuvah rav throughout their life, insisted I follow his advice. Within a month I had the surgery and returned to you for therapy. A few months later I married an amazing man who, to this day, is my true lifelong zivug. (I sometimes ask my husband if he would have gone out with me a second time had I not had a nose job. To be honest, he says, he would not have.) I have a very large mishpachah and so much nachas.