Mar 05 2025 5 mins 1
When a person is in need of a salvation and has exhausted all possible avenues of hishtadlut , he can fully rely on Hashem for salvation. We are only obligated to make hishtadlut and act within the normal framework of the world when opportunities are available. But if we have tried everything and no solutions remain, our only task is to turn to Hashem and pray. The stronger a person's emunah in his tefillah , the more powerful it will be. The pasuk states, " כי הוא אמר ויהי " —Hashem created the entire world with His words. " השולח אמרתו ארץ עד מהרה ירוץ דברו ." When Hashem wills something to happen, He sends His word, and it moves with lightning speed to fulfill His command. The moment Hashem says the word, there is no delay—salvation is already in motion. The first mitzva discussed after Matan Torah is the laws of Eved Ivri —a Jewish servant. Why is this the first mitzva introduced? I once heard a profound explanation. The Jewish people had been slaves in Egypt for 210 years. From their perspective, it seemed impossible that they would ever be freed. Imagine someone in year 205 being asked if he thought freedom would ever come. He would likely have said, "We've been here for centuries—nothing is ever going to change." Yet, when Hashem gave the command, not only were they freed, but they themselves became slave owners. A person can rise from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high in an instant. A maggid shiur from England shared how he struggled with parnasa . His salary arrived sporadically—some months he received only a third of his wages, sometimes even less. There were months when he wasn't paid at all, followed by months when a lump sum would suddenly appear. Living with such financial uncertainty forced him to pray from the depths of his heart, knowing that Hashem alone is the provider. Recently, several additional difficulties arose, including government delays in payments they were supposed to send him. His children needed food, clothing, and other necessities. The holidays were approaching, and he had no idea how he would afford everything. One day, his wife asked him to go shopping for essentials. But when he checked his account, he saw there was no money to spend. He told his wife, "We need to turn to Hashem and beg Him for a yeshuah." That morning, after Shacharit , he bumped into an old acquaintance. The man said, "We haven't seen each other in a while. I have £5,000 and was wondering if perhaps you wanted to borrow it from me." The rebbe couldn't believe his ears. It was as if Hashem had sent him a messenger immediately after he finished praying. He happily accepted. A few days later, a family member reached out—without being asked—and said he wanted to help him for the holidays. Shortly after, he deposited a generous sum into his account. In the days that followed, instead of paying only a fraction of his salary, the yeshiva deposited a much larger amount than usual. Then, the family discovered money in the house they hadn't even realized they had. And finally, the government transferred all of their delayed stipends. Within a few days, the rebbe had over £100,000 in his bank account. All at once, an outpouring of shefa came pouring down from Shamayim . But it came after an abundance of tefillot , immense emunah , countless shiurim in Sha'ar HaBitachon , and receiving continuous chizuk . Hashem's salvations are truly wondrous. They can come from anywhere, in the blink of an eye. No matter how long it has been, things can always change instantly. Our job is to always pray with emunah .
