By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
Reframing ancient miracles into a contemporarily relatable context can be cute.
Like imagining a modern-day version of the Chanuka miracle in the context of battery life of your cellphone. One bar left and it lasts for eight days.
I had a reverse kind of battery miracle this week.
On Monday I was having a zoom meeting with an elderly couple who are homebound because of health-related issues.
They told me that they may ‘disappear’ from the screen in middle, but I should not think that they had disconnected. Simply their ‘ancient’ MacBook was having battery problems.
It didn’t fully register with me. The difficulty of the challenge that this must be creating for them. Replacing the battery would not be a simple task for them in their situation. Truth be told, I heard what they said but I didn’t really give the matter much immediate thought. I didn’t try to help them with the immediacy that would be warranted.
An hour later I powered up my laptop computer to get to some important computer work. The computer console told me ‘57% (plugged in, charging)’. Yet in front of my eyes the percentages went down. Within a half hour it was down to 7% battery and the computer suggested that I save my documents and power down. Mind you, the console still falsely claimed that I was charging. The charger worked fine on my phone. I restarted the computer in case it was an app that was shlepping an irresponsible amount of battery. Nothing helped. The battery was the obvious culprit.
I was incredulous. Hashem had made a miracle for me.
My computer is an IBM. The other computer is a Mac.
Yet somehow my computers battery went on the blink in a rapid way right after I learned of the other persons battery issues.
Clearly, I was being given the opportunity for empathy. To feel what this other person was going through.
I got the point and immediately called David who handles our computer systems. ‘I have two problems’ I told him. ‘Firstly my friend has a MacBook with a failing battery. Secondly, my computer also has a failing battery’. He told me to leave them in the office, sent a messenger, picked up both and sent them to his computer repairs shop.
By the end of the day, we both had our computers back with replaced batteries. I don’t know if the batteries will ‘live happily ever after’ but for now they are delivering the power as they should be.
The next morning, I read the third portion of the Parsha for the third day of the week. (The weekly parsha is divided to seven parts. One portion per day. On Shabbat all seven parts of the Parsha are read in the Synagogue).
Here is the Mitzvah that l learned on Tuesday morning:
When you build a new house, you must make a parapet for your roof, in order that you not cause blood to be shed in your house by not preventing one who falls from falling off the roof. True, if someone falls to his death, it indicates retroactively that he was destined to be punished for some crime he had committed. Nonetheless, you should try to avoid such an occurrence on your property, for the fact that such a tragedy occurs specifically on your property rather than elsewhere indicates that you, too, are in some way culpable for some wrongdoing. (Kehot Chumash with interpolated translation incorporating Rashi’s commentary).
Simply put. Hashem runs his world and orchestrates good things to happen through certain people and negative things to happen through others.
It is a huge blessing when something nice goes ‘through you’.
Say for example Hashem gave you the opportunity to make a phone call for someone to help them make a sale or get a job. The fact that that favor and ‘nice thing’ is happening via you, is a blessing. You have been designated by Hashem to be his ‘arm’ of benevolence.
Conversely, when negative things happen through an individual it may be an indication that there is something not perfect in the ‘delivery person’.
This ought to inspire introspection and self-awareness to see if there is something that needs to be changed in our life.
I read this verse and it became so clear. I don’t know why, and perhaps it is undeserved, but Hashem chose to have these people helped through me.
Computer access for homebound people makes a world of difference. Literally. We all experienced it during Covid. When you cannot go out, the portal of the internet, zoom and other media becomes your vicarious expedition to the outside world.
I was at risk of not registering the importance and urgency of their need.
Hashem gave me the gift of feeling their challenge in my very own life. After being shown the need so clearly, anyone in my shoes would have done exactly what I did. Replace the battery.
I thank Hashem for giving me this incredible opportunity. For not letting me overlook this important mission.
I am thinking out loud now.
Perhaps Hashem blessed me with this gift because of you.
Yes, you my reader.
You deserve to hear messages of clear Divine Providence like this one.
This is why Hashem provides me with stories like these to share with others.
This is what I am thinking….
In that case, I owe you a big debt of gratitude.
Thank you for reading my weekly article. For contributing to the collective meritoriousness which (in my humble opinion) is the reason I am blessed to have these stories in the first place.
I am happy to share another story I was blessed to hear this week in first person.
At the Gem show this week we provided kosher food. I met with the local members of our community who exhibit their jewelry as well as with the many visitors from the international community who come to the show. One of the merchants told me a story that inspired me incredibly.
‘Rabbi, I have to share this miracle.
For the last while, business was going very very slow. I kept waiting for a breakthrough. It wasn’t coming.
A few weeks ago, I realized that I had become a drop less attentive to the mitzvah of tefillin, and while 99% percent of the time I put them on daily, there were some instances where I procrastinated and didn’t get to it in time before sunset.
The very next morning after my realization that I had begun slipping in my observance, I got up and said to myself, I am going to rededicate myself to my commitment to Hashem today. I put on tefillin. And while most of the doors in my home had a mezuzah, I was missing some. Finally got to dealing with the few doors that still needed mezuzahs.
I got to work a bit later than usual.
A client came in a few hours later.
I made a sale that was huge. Literally ‘like from the movies’.
Way beyond what I could have imagined.
It saved my business that was floundering.
My wife came in while I was negotiating the sale, and she saw the huge scope of the business we were transacting. She looked at me and said ‘mezuzahs?’
I just smiled and said, ‘you can decide for yourself’.
When I looked at the merchant telling me the story and saw the inspired look in his eyes.
He told me that in his eyes this was literally and miracle a ‘NESS’.
I reminded him that the word miracle – ‘ness’ is part of the word ‘parnassah’ livelihood.
נס = פר נסה
The truly balanced way of doing business is when you realize that there is an obvious symbiosis between G-d’s blessings and your efforts.
Hashem tells us in the Torah
‘Hashem will bless you in all that you do’.
We need to do, and we need Hashem's blessing.
Hashem's blessings is what brings the success, and we need to do human activities as well.
Like a body and a soul. Inseparable.
Doing what G-d wants invites the blessing into the actions that humans take.
May Hashem bless all of us.
Return our hostages, protect our soldiers, heal our wounded and bring secure peace to Israel, the region and to our fellow Jews and citizens in the entire world.
We want Mashiach NOW. Shana Tova.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
PS. here in Bangkok we are well into the preparations for the High Holidays at Rembrandt Hotel. See information below.
Looking forward to praying, celebrating and receiving the Shana Tova blessings with you.