Unlimited Ways to Help

One of the benefits of hearing stories of Hashem's salvations is that they expand our understanding of what is possible. Sometimes we hear about a yeshuah that seems almost unbelievable. We wonder if such things could really happen. The answer is, of course they can, and that is exactly why we need to hear them. The more we recognize that Hashem's abilities are unlimited, the easier it becomes for us to put our trust in Him and pray with real hope. We stop limiting Hashem's possibilities to what seems realistic to us, and we begin to understand that Hashem is never bound by nature or statistics. A talmid chacham who spends his days learning Torah related what happened when two of his children became engaged one after the other. He had no idea how he would pay for two weddings. Rather than focusing on people, he worked on strengthening his bitachon in Hashem. He prayed that Hashem should help him not even think that any specific person would be his source of salvation. He asked that his eyes be directed only toward Hashem. Whenever the thought entered his mind, "Where will I get the money?" he immediately replaced it with the conviction that Hashem would provide it. His entire avodah was to remain calm, continue trusting, and continue praying. One day, an avreich approached him after Minchah and told him that a generous donor wanted to help. He was asked to prepare a detailed list of every expense for the first wedding, including everything he could think of. A few days later, the avreich returned and handed him an envelope containing the entire amount in cash. His family gathered together and said Nishmat to thank Hashem for this amazing yeshuah. As the shopping continued, however, they realized they had forgotten many important expenses. Instead of becoming anxious, they strengthened themselves even more, believing that this too was orchestrated by Hashem so they would continue relying only upon Him. Soon afterward, a different avreich knocked on his door and handed him an envelope containing fifteen thousand shekels, explaining that it was from a donor who wanted to help with the wedding expenses. That amount covered all of the additional costs. While they were still rejoicing over those miracles, the first avreich returned with another envelope, this one containing the full amount needed for the second wedding as well. Every expense for both weddings was covered with dignity and generosity. Most people would say this story is hard to believe, but it really happened, and that is exactly why we need to hear it. Hashem wants us to know that there is no limit to the ways He can help those who put their trust in Him. Another man told me that he was struggling through an extremely difficult period in business. He had accumulated a great deal of debt and spent every day praying to Hashem for a yeshuah. Finally, he received a large order from a major online retailer for sixteen thousand units of one of his products. That order enabled him to pay back part of his debt and gave him a little breathing room. He thanked Hashem and continued praying, "Please, Hashem, You showed me so clearly that You can help. Please send me another order." The very next day, he noticed that the retailer's website was selling his product for far below the price that he had sold it to them for. There was clearly some kind of pricing error in their system. Incredibly, because of that mistake, every one of the sixteen thousand units sold out in a single day. A couple of days later, the company called him back saying that their inventory had completely disappeared and they needed another shipment. They placed the exact same order again, and within days Hashem had doubled his yeshuah. He was now able to pay off all of his debts and still had money left over. Who could have imagined that a computer glitch would become the vehicle for his salvation? This is why we need to hear stories of Hashem's kindness. They teach us never to put limits on His abilities. Our minds naturally think within the framework of what seems possible, but Hashem's possibilities are infinite. A salvation can come in any way, and most of the time it comes in ways we could never foresee. Our job is not to figure out how Hashem will help us. Our job is simply to know that He can. Every day that we pray, we should remember that no situation is beyond Hashem's ability to change and no request is beyond His ability to fulfill. We need to pray with real hope, anticipate great salvations, and believe with complete bitachon that Hashem can give us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it, in ways far greater than we could ever imagine.