Jan 28 2025 5 mins 2
One of the reasons we don't fully appreciate Hashem as much as we should is because, even when we receive clear blessings, we tend to attribute them to the people who gave them to us directly. We often fail to internalize that these people are merely Hashem's messengers. The Chovot HaLevavot , in Sha'ar HaBitachon , writes that Hashem has more love and mercy for us than anyone else in the world. Any compassion shown to a person ultimately stems from Hashem's compassion. When we receive something from others, it is because Hashem placed compassion into their hearts, enabling them to provide us with what He wants us to have. Of course, we must have hakarat hatov to those who help us, as Hashem deemed them worthy of fulfilling the chesed . But we cannot overlook the fact that everything we receive ultimately comes from Hashem. Likewise, when something is taken from us, it is Hashem acting through His messengers. Sometimes, we ourselves are His messengers, performing His will for others. A man, whom we will call Yosef, shared an incredible story. He lives in Har Nof and traveled abroad for a family wedding. On the return trip, his flight had a stopover in Holland. Due to a delay in the first flight, Yosef and his wife missed their connecting flight to Israel. It was already Friday, and there was no way to catch another flight in time for Shabbat. At the airport, a friendly Jew recommended they drive to the Jewish community in Antwerp, where they would surely find warm hospitality for Shabbat. When they arrived in Antwerp, however, Yosef and his wife felt hesitant about relying on others. Instead, they planned to buy some food and stay in a hotel. As they drove near the shul, they saw a man walking and asked where they could buy food. The man told them that all the Jewish stores were already closed for Shabbat but offered to guide them to the nearest grocery store. Yosef and his wife accepted his offer, and the man got into the back seat of their car. During the ride, they struck up a conversation and learned that this man was 36 years old and still unmarried. He shared that one day he had walked into a bet midrash and noticed a Gemara Masechet Sotah open to the page that states: "Forty days before a person is even conceived, Hashem determines who they will marry." Ever since, his daily prayer had been: "Ribbono shel Olam, You wrote in Your Torah that I have a zivug, and I believe with emunah shelemah that You will help me find her. Please let it happen soon." Yosef's wife listened intently and felt strongly that she wanted to help this man find his zivug . The man guided them to the shul where Shabbat guests were welcomed. Yosef and his wife went there and experienced the most heartwarming Shabbat, surrounded by people filled with ahavat Yisrael . They later said it was worth missing their connecting flight just to witness the kindness of the Antwerp community. During Shabbat, they met other guests, including a family from France whose daughter was searching for a shidduch . Yosef's wife immediately thought of the man who had helped them and suggested him as a match. Baruch Hashem , they turned out to be a perfect match, and shortly thereafter, the couple became engaged and then married. Yosef and his wife saw clearly how Hashem used them as His messengers to bring this couple together. They understood why they missed their connecting flight, why the man at the airport directed them to Antwerp, and why they met the 36-year-old near the shul. They even understood why he got into their car to show them where the grocery store was and instead brought them to the shul for guests. Everything that happens to us is guided by the ratzon Hashem . Sometimes Hashem gives to us through His messengers. Sometimes He takes through His messengers. And sometimes, He makes us His messengers.
