All Meant To Be

RABBI ASHEAR TRANSCRIPT

Directions from Above

Although Hashem doesn't reveal himself openly, He is with us all day long, guiding us and speaking to us. For example, if a person makes the proper hishtadlut to wake up for an early minyan, he sets his alarm and goes to sleep on time, but ends up sleeping through the alarm and has to pray at a later minyan, that was caused by Hashem. If the man sees someone at that minyan that he has been trying so long to get in touch with, he will understand one of the many reasons why Hashem directed him there. But even if nothing happens there and the day continues as usual, it doesn't take away from the fact that Hashem directed this man to that minyan and caused his schedule to be slightly altered.

Sometimes Hashem allows us to clearly see His guiding hand and sometimes He does not. Whether we see it or not, the fact is that we are always being guided. When we are able to clearly see how Hashem was guiding us, it gives us a lot of chizuk.

  

I read a story written by Mrs. Leah Tisser about a woman who went to Israel last year for Sukkot. The woman said she was going with her entire family to visit her son who was learning there and they were due to arrive the day before the holiday. They were driving down Ocean Parkway on the way to Kennedy Airport, when the woman suddenly remembered that she left her make-up bag on the dresser. They were about ten minutes from their house, but they didn't want to take the risk of missing the flight. Her husband told her to call the airlines to see if the flight was on time. She called El Al and asked if flight 354 to Tel-Aviv was leaving on time. The agent responded, "We don't have a flight 354 going to Tel-Aviv." She yelled back, "What do you mean you don't have a flight 354? Our ticket says flight 354 leaving for Tel-Aviv at 7:45 pm." She got very flustered. She told her husband, how could this happen? We were planning this trip for months. We have guests coming to us in Israel. Could they have canceled the flight without telling us? Her husband looked at the ticket and said, "No, it's our mistake. Our return flight is to Kennedy, but we're departing from Newark." Now they were really tight. It was going to take an extra half hour to get to that airport. They instructed the driver to turn west on the Belt Parkway, and they just made the flight. When they arrived in Israel, the woman opened her suitcase and saw the make-up bag right there on the top. Why did she think otherwise? That was Hashem practically telling them that they were going the wrong way.

A Rabbi told me this past Erev Shabbat Hanukah, he went to pray Mincha at a 12:45 minyan, but arrived a minute or two after they started. The shul had a mikveh in the basement, so he decided to go to the mikveh in honor of Shabbat and then pray at the 1:00 minyan. While in the mikveh, he noticed a very large bulging red patch of skin on his leg. He asked someone about it and the person responded that it looked very serious. "You need to go to a doctor right away." It was Friday afternoon, a couple of hours before Shabbat and the doctors close early. The Rabbi was very nervous. He prayed Mincha at the 1:00minyan and was thinking of leaving right after the Amida, but he convinced himself he'd be better off praying to Hashem and staying until the end. As he was leaving the shul at 1:15, he bumped in to a local dermatologist. Amazing! He asked the doctor if he would take a look at his leg. They went off to the side. The doctor told the Rabbi, you have cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin that could spread very quickly if not treated.  The doctor called in a prescription to a pharmacy down the block. And just like that, within minutes, the Rabbi was on antibiotic. Hashem was clearly directing him, making him late for the first minyan, finding the problem in the mikveh, meeting the doctor right after. 

Hashem is always guiding us, whether we realize it or not. We should always feel at ease knowing that our loving Hashem is always with us.

In One Split Second

In The Blink of an Eye

ישועת ה' כהרף עין, the salvation of Hashem comes in the blink on an eye. A person can hope and pray for something for so long but see no results. All of a sudden, when there seems nothing left to do and all hope is lost, the salvation comes. Everything the person had been hoping for materializes. This is ישועת ה' כהרף עין.

Sometimes salvation comes as a result of our efforts and sometimes it comes from a completely different source. The cause doesn't matter, because either way it's from Hashem. It's important for us to always remember, that although our efforts are necessary, they are not what bring us the results. Hashem told us to try and do everything we can to be successful. Once we've done our role, we've created a pipeline for Hashem to send His blessing.

If somebody tried in vain for months to sell a certain property and then one day, somebody out of the blue calls him and makes a great offer, he should not feel that his effort for the last few months were wasted. His hishtadlut created the pipeline, and Hashem sent the results.

  

We must never give up on our goals, especially when trying to do the will of Hashem. People trying for a long time to get married or have children could begin to feel "What's the point? I'm not seeing any results anyway. My efforts are futile." Nevertheless, Hashem wants them to continue hoping to Him. The salvation could come from a completely unexpected source, but it's only after we have made our efforts and continued to pray.

Someone recently showed me two articles that demonstrate this point. The first one told the story of a woman who once visited her aunt in the hospital. As she was walked down the hallway, an elderly gentleman stopped her and asked if she was religious. She responded yes. He then inquired if she knew of any middle aged men for his 38 year old daughter. The man said his daughter, Yael, became religious and was having a difficult time getting married. The woman replied that she just happened to have joined a network of shadchanim and would be glad to help.

She contacted the man's daughter and put her name on a list. Very shortly afterwards, someone in the network suggested Moshe, a 42 year old single. The match was set up, and Baruch Hashem, they are now happily married. One could imagine all the heartache Yael had experienced, all the tefilot she had prayed, all of the connections she had tried to make until the age of 38. All of a sudden, from a completely unexpected source, the ישועת השםcame בהרף עין.

The other article was about a couple named Avi and Rachel from Israel, who were married for many years with no children. After years of unsuccessful treatments in Israel, the couple decided, based on medical advice, to seek treatment in the United States. Even though they were unhappy with their daily routine in New York, they wanted children so badly that they were willing to stick it out. One day Avi was called back to Israel suddenly to tend to a family emergency. He went by himself and was going to return as soon as possible. As he was boarding the return flight, the clerk looked at his passport and shook his head. "You can't enter the US", he said and pointed to a large black stamp on the passport that Avi had never seen before.

Without a choice, he told his wife to return to Israel where they settled back into their old lives. A few months later, they discovered that Rachel was expecting. They weren't even undergoing any treatments at the time. Baruch Hashem, eight months later Rachel gave birth to identical twins. They had put in years of hishtadlut and tefilot, but in the end, Hashem brought the yeshua in the blink of an eye, right back where they started. Their effort were necessary, nothing was wasted. They opened the pipeline.

Hashem wants us to always keep trying and keep praying to Him. B'ezrat Hashem everyone who needs a yeshua will see the ישועת השם כהרף עין.

A Time To Rest Brilliant Video

http://youtu.be/L2GjmmbvfYY

The Rebbes Marching Orders

http://youtu.be/mI-LA0ppc2I

Prime Minister At Sydney Shul , beautiful

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RZocLdxaoPU&sns=fb

The Day After Chanukah Good Story

I know most rabbis will call people before Chanukah; however, I realized that the call after Chanukah can be even more appreciated.

Ethel Moshkowitz (named changed) taught me this important lesson and since then, every year for the last six years I call her on the day after Chanukah.

It was six years ago on the day after Chanukah when I met Ethel in the local kosher grocery and realized that she had forgotten one bag of groceries at the check-out line. I told the cashier that I would bring her the forgotten bag.

Ethel lives in a one bedroom apartment in a high-rise building in Passaic.

I called and told Ethel I had the groceries; and asked her, “If it was not too much trouble could I drop it by?”

Early that afternoon I drove to Passaic Ave and pressed the elevator button for the sixth floor.

As the elevator made its steady climb upward I thought just how happy Ethel must be.

Her son and daughter-in-law lived less than a mile away in Clifton and she had just spent Shabbos Chanukah by them along with their married children who live in Lakewood.

I could only imagine the nachas Ethel had from being with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

As soon as the doors opened to the sixth floor I could hear the deafening sound of a blaring radio.

As I neared apartment 6B I realized that the blasting radio was emanating from Ethel’s apartment!

I rang her bell, knocked loudly and finally after what seemed like an eternity, Ethel opened the door.

“Hello Rabbi, please come in for a minute.”

I did not want to insult her, however, I did need her to lower the volume so I jokingly said, “That must be a very interesting show on the radio for you to have it on so loud!”

Ethel looked up and with complete sincerity replied, “Oh, the radio is on? I was not even listening; sometimes I forget I had turned it on.”

And then I uttered the words which I regretted saying the minute they left my mouth, “If you are not listening then why have the radio on and why so loud?”

Ethel suddenly became solemn and clarified somewhat apologetically,

“Rabbi, let me explain. 

Today is the day after Chanukah. 

Today everyone went home and back to their regular busy routine. 

My grandchildren were restless to get back to Lakewood and they drove home this morning.

And I am sure that my son and daughter-in- law are appreciating the peace and quiet as they are now able to get back to their regular work routine. 

I also came back to my apartment today.

However, for me what does today mean? 

Does it mean getting back into my ‘busy or exciting’ routine?

For me it means one thing: loneliness.

For the last few days of Chanukah I heard the voices of Jewish children.

 I heard them when I awoke and when I went to sleep.

 When I arrived back home I was ‘welcomed’ with the same sounds that have greeted me since my husband passed away - thesounds of silence. 

The silence is so painful and so haunting that I put on the radio just to hear another human voice.

I am sorry if the radio was disturbing.

For me the day after Chanukah or any Yom Tov when everyone excitedly gets back to their ‘real lives’, is the day I go back to my silent and lonely home. 

What for others is a day of joy, for me is a day of sadness”. 

As I left her with the red bag of groceries and made my way to the elevator, I turned around and saw Ethel Moshkowitz close her apartment door behind her. A minute later her radio was back on, perhaps a drop lower than before.

What A Lesson

I want to share with you a spectacular story that I heard from a good friend of mine who is an 8th grade rebbe in Chicago, Illinois, R' Shloimy Nueberger. R' Shloimy was teaching Melachim beis, perek vav; the story of Elisha and the axe. The story goes as follows. After Gai Chazi left, the Yeshiva was now able to take in more bachrim. The yeshiva very soon outgrew its facility, and the boys came to Elisha and said "We need more room it's too crowded". They went to the forest to chop down trees near the yarden. One of the boys lost the metal part of his axe, it fell into the river. He came running to Elisha and he said, "Rebbe, I lost my axe head. Mefarshim explain he had borrowed it and he did not have money to pay for it. Elisha told him, "Show me where the axe head fell". The boy showed Elisha. Elisha took a piece of wood that would normally float, dropped it in to the river, it sunk to bottom, and when it sunk to the bottom, the axe head came up to the surface. The young man had his axe head once again. R' Shloimy is teaching this story, and R' Samberg, the principal is in the room, and he asked a question. Elisha was given sixteen miracles to perform, double that of his rebbe Eliyahu Hanavi. These miracles should be reserved for extreme cases, tchiyas hameisim and the such. Why would Elisha "waste" a miracle on a boy that lost his axe head? A number of boys gave wonderful answers, and then one boy, Yehoshua Spek answers, Isn't it worth it for Elisha to perform a miracle that will prevent a boy from feeling left out from a project? What would be boy have done if he didn't have the axe head? He would have to sit on the side. Maybe Elisha could have given him money to buy a new one, but in the meantime he is not participating. Every boy is worthwhile to perform a miracle for, and that's why Elisha performed the miracle. What a spectacular story. Each of our talmidim, each of our children are worth all the miracles in the world. Keep this in mind as we read this week about Yehuda setting up a beis medrash in Goshen so that Klal Yisroel could survive. Remember how important it is to cherish our children. Have a great day and a great rest of your week.

Relax , Take A Deep Breath

Judge Favorably

Lol