Opening Our Eyes to Hashem’s Care

The more a person pays attention to the hashgachah of Hashem in his life, the more he will come to appreciate Hashem, and the more he will come to rely upon Him. Rabbi Pinchas Shefer related that a man told him that as Pesach was approaching, he and his wife realized there were many things they needed. They decided to take out two sheets of paper. On the first sheet, they listed everything that Hashem had already given them—family, health, talents, children, a home, jobs, and much more. They continued adding all the different items they owned, their furniture, their belongings—everything they had only because Hashem wanted them to have it. The list kept growing longer and longer. Then they took out a second sheet of paper and began listing all the things they would need for Pesach. That list also became very long. They even included items that were not strictly necessary, but would enhance their simchat Yom Tov. Looking at the two lists strengthened their emunah tremendously. They clearly saw how much bounty Hashem had already given them, and their belief that He would continue to lovingly provide for all of their needs—and even their wants—became very real. And indeed, Hashem did not let them down. As the days and weeks passed, they kept crossing off more and more items from the second list and adding them to the first. Some they were able to purchase, and some they received "incidentally". There were even very expensive items on their list, and by the time Pesach arrived, they somehow had every single one of them. Hashem takes care of our big needs and our small needs—it is up to us to recognize it. A woman living in Eretz Yisrael said that one day she wanted to go for a walk, but she had no pockets to hold her phone and house key, so she wore a jacket. It was a very hot day, and she was uncomfortable wearing it. As she walked, she thought how nice it would be to have a small shoulder purse to carry her things instead. When she returned from her walk, she noticed that someone had left a bag of clothing and accessories near a public bin for anyone who wanted them. As she looked through it, she found exactly what she had wished for—a perfect leather shoulder purse. She felt tremendous joy seeing how Hashem had taken care of even such a small detail in her life. A man—we'll call him Jack—told me that he was recently on a train during allergy season and began sneezing. Usually, he carried tissues in his jacket, but that day, because of the warm weather, he had not worn it. With his nose running and a forty-minute ride ahead of him, it seemed like it would be a very uncomfortable trip. He tried thinking of ways to get a tissue, but nothing worked. He then decided to simply read his daily Tehillim as usual. Just then, someone sat down next to him. As the man sat, a small pack of tissues slipped out of his pocket and landed directly on Jack's lap. Jack picked it up and told the man that he thought it had fallen from him. The man thanked him, and Jack politely asked if he could have one tissue. Of course, the man agreed. Jack was in awe. Hashem had practically placed the tissue directly into his hands at the exact moment he needed it. And he realized something powerful: Just as Hashem can provide for our smallest needs in an instant, He can just as easily take care of our greatest needs in an instant. The more we open our eyes and recognize the constant hashgachah that Hashem has over every moment of our lives, the more at ease we will feel, knowing that we are always in His hands.