Never Alone

Written by Darren Finke:

You might be reading this post on your device in a coffee shop or favorite hangout spot. There may be commotion around you, or you may be reading it in silence. You are engrossed in whatever activity you were doing before you came across this. You’re in your thoughts. You might even think you’re alone, and no one is watching you. Even when you physically are alone, you are not truly by yourself.

Last November, I had the great fortune to join the Men’s JWRP trip to Israel. While in Jerusalem, an incredible lone solider, Sgt. Menachem Samel, introduced
our group to the concept of hashgacha pratis (“HP” for short). HP means divine providence; it is the Almighty’s involvement in our lives. Whether we realize it or not, he is orchestrating everything around us.

There are no coincidences. The lone solider told us an amazing story of HP in action. This brave soldier and his military unit were in a conflict in the West Bank, holed up in an abandoned house with enemies launching weapons at them from every angle. He went up to go to the bathroom.
After one of his fellow troops walked out of the bathroom, the lone solider paused for a few seconds before going in. There wasn’t anythingparticular that caused him to wait, he just
did. A split second before he went into the bathroom it exploded! A bomb had been fired into the house and destroyed the room he was about to enter. Had he gone in a moment sooner, he would have been killed. By pausing for just a few seconds, the Almighty saved his life!

If we’re open to it, we see HP all around us. People are brought into our lives at just the right moment to deliver us a message. Opportunities are presented to us all the time that are intended for us, not for someone else. My friend, Scott, recently shared a beautiful example of this. His niece from out of state will be visiting Scott’s family for a couple of weeks. While the main purpose of her visit is to attend her cousin’s bat mitzvah, her year-round school happens to have two weeks off beginning the weekend of the bat mitzvah and continuing through the beginning of Pesach.

My friend’s niece is being raised in a loving home, but one not filled with Judaism. She craves Judaism but doesn’t receive it as much as she would like. When she visits, my friend’s family seeks opportunities to bring Judaism into her life. The timing of her spring break falls perfectly for her to join her cousin’s bat mitzvah and join for the Pesach Seders. This is no coincidence! There is a reason for the timing of these events.

Another great example of HP comes from my friend, Gerardo. A few months back, he and his family were in New
York City for a cousin’s bar mitzvah. After checking in to the hotel, they went down to Times Square. Minutes after they arrived, they bumped into family from Mexico they hadn’t seen in years. Tens of millions of people visit Times Square every year, yet as soon as they got there, they ran into family. The following day, they went down to the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero, and the same thing happened! These chance occurrencemeetings reconnected family and made the weekend’s events all the more special.

These examples demonstrate that the Almighty is involved in our lives all the time, not just in the crucial moments when we’re facing life or death. It’s up to us to keep our eyes open and look for the opportunities in front of us.