Hashem Has the Solution

When a person needs something and cannot figure out any way to obtain it, that simply means that from a hishtadlut standpoint, his primary responsibility is to ask Hashem for help. We are only required to make a physical effort when there is a reasonable effort to make. If there is none, then we are exempt from that obligation and can place our full reliance on Hashem. Just because we do not see a solution does not mean one does not exist. It only means that Hashem has not allowed us to see it yet. Hashem has a solution to every problem. When we truly understand that, we are able to pray with genuine emunah. Hashem wants to help us. Hashem is available to help us. But we need to believe that and sincerely ask Him for help. A man told me that he and his wife had been trying to travel to Israel together since before COVID. Every time they made plans, something came up that prevented the trip from happening. In recent years, his income had dropped significantly, and with the rising cost of airfare, the trip had become completely unaffordable. His wife had been patiently waiting for years, and he had told her that by this summer he would do everything possible to make it happen. As the summer approached, he realized it was impossible. Even if his income suddenly improved, any extra money would have to be used to pay off debts that he owed. He saw how much his wife wanted to go, and it pained him that he could not provide it for her. He prayed to Hashem from the depths of his heart. "Hashem," he said, "I have no conventional way of purchasing these tickets. But I know that You can provide them in the blink of an eye. Please help me." A couple of days later, his wife, who works as a shadchanit, told him that a family for whom she had recently arranged a shidduch wanted to give her a gift. In addition to paying her generously, they offered her two airline tickets to Israel to attend the wedding of another child they were marrying off that summer. The tickets appeared completely out of nowhere. Hashem had sent them exactly what they needed. The man told me, "I always read stories like this. Now I am so happy that I get to be part of one." Another man told me that he received a call from his supplier informing him that two pallets of merchandise were about to be delivered in Manhattan and that he needed to be there to accept them. The timing could not have been worse. It was Friday afternoon, and he was preparing to leave early for Shabbat. All of his employees had already left, and there was nobody available to help unload the shipment. When he stepped outside, the truck had just arrived. Miraculously, there was an open spot directly in front of his building. The truck driver asked, "Who is going to unload these pallets?" The man replied that he would try to do it himself. In truth, it was impossible. The job required multiple people, and the truck driver informed him that he only had twenty minutes before he would have to leave. The man looked at the pallets and realized there was absolutely no way he could get the job done. He turned to Hashem and said, "I don't know how this can happen, but I know You can make it happen. Please help me." Less than thirty seconds later, a large, strong man tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "Do you have any work available?" It was as if Hashem had sent a malach. The man immediately got to work, and together they unloaded the entire shipment just in time. Hashem can always help us. Hashem loves helping us. The problem is not that He lacks solutions. The problem is that we often convince ourselves there are no solutions because we cannot see them. When we reach the point where we have exhausted every possibility and can think of no way forward, that is not necessarily a sign that hope is gone. Sometimes it is Hashem inviting us to stop relying on our own understanding and start relying on Him. Very often, the yeshuah is already on its way. We simply have not seen it yet. As Chazal teach, before Hashem creates the problem, He prepares the cure. By the time we discover the challenge, Hashem has already arranged the solution. Our task is to believe that, pray with sincerity, and trust that the One who created the problem certainly knows how to solve it.