09 Nov CONCEALED KINDNESS

One way to translate the word פלא†is

concealed as it states (Devarim 17:8), כי†יפלא

ממך†דבר†, “When a halachah is concealed

from you…” In Shemoneh Esrei we praise Hashem for His kindness, and we express our gratitude על†נפלאותיך†even when the

kindness is concealed from us. We know that even in times of distress, when things seem to be bad, they are only orchestrated by Hashem for our good. (from siddur HaGr’a).

Reb Hershel Berkowitz Shlita of Ashdod told the following story:

Reb Hershel Berkowitz’s daughter got engaged a year ago, and he traveled to New York to raise money for the chasunah. Reb Hershel made up with a driver to pick him up at 5:30 in the morning and drive him to several batei midrashim to collect money during Shacharis.

Reb Hershel waited for a half-hour for the driver, but he didn’t show up. Initially, he was angry at the driver, but then he overcame that nisayon. He pushed away those angry thoughts and went to Munkatch beis medresh in Boro Park (which was near where he was staying) and said Tehillim with kavanah. Soon after, a Yid tapped him on†the†shoulder†and†gave†him†five†hundred†dollars, noticing that he came to America to collect money.

The Yid told him, “I’m going to court today, as people are trying to extort force me, illegally, to give them a lot of money. It isn’t simple, and I need a yeshuah. Please, say Tehillim that I should succeed. I will call you later today to tell you the outcome of the court case.”

Reb Hershel told him, “You won’t have to look for me. I will remain here, in this beis medresh until you return and tell me how your day went.”

Reb Hershel spent the morning in the Munkatch shul saying Tehillim, davening Shacharis, learning Torah, until he received a phone call from this man.

“Where are you?”

“I’m still in Munkatch.”

“I’ll be there shortly.”

He arrived and told him what occurred:

“I had a court case this morning in Manhattan, but my lawyer didn’t show up. I was very upset about that because judges in this country don’t respect a person who comes to court without a lawyer. They see it as a lack of respect towards the court. That alone could have caused me to lose the case.

“I called my lawyer, but he didn’t answer the phone. I stood before the judge, my knees trembling from fear. The judge asked me what I can say to prove my side of the story, and I explained my claim. Then the miracle occurred. The judge said, ‘The fact you came here today without a lawyer proves†you†are†confident†with†your†claim†and that you are telling the truth. Otherwise, you would hire a lawyer. I believe everything you say.’

“The ruling was far better than what I expected to achieve, even with my lawyer. I was hoping the lawyer would convince the judge to schedule another hearing, and then there would be a compromise. But I was exonerated! “When I left the court, the lawyer called me. He said, ‘I’m a lawyer for forty†years¨†and†this†is†the†first†time†I†overslept. Please forgive me.’

“I told him how the proceedings went, and he was shocked. He said he had never heard of a judge using that logic before. So, I told him that I would send him a copy of the minutes so he can see for himself.”

This Yid said to Reb Hershel, “I couldn’t speak for an hour because I was so overwhelmed by the miracle that happened to me. Thank you for davening for me. Here’s†five†thousand†dollars¨†the†amount†I†put aside to pay the lawyer.” They chatted some more, and the Yid wrote down Reb Hershel’s address and the date of his daughter’s chasunah.

Later that afternoon, the driver called Reb Hershel to apologize for not coming on time. He said, “I drive meshulachim for years, and this†is†the†first†time†I†oversleptƆPlease†forgive me.” (He said almost the exact words the lawyer said.) The driver added that he would drive him the following day for free to compensate for the loss of money he caused him today.

And, on the day of Reb Hershel’s daughter’s chasunah, a messenger came with a generous envelope†filled†with†money†for†Reb†HershelÆ

The lesson: Hashem’s kindness is often concealed. What seems bad, is all good. These are the נפלאותיך†that we thank

Hashem’s for.

Years ago, Reb Kook Shlita, rosh yeshivah of Maor HaTalmud, Rechovot, was sitting shivah for his brother and sister-in-law and their two children who all died in a car accident r”l, and Reb Shach zt’l came to be menachem avel. He told them, “Not asking questions about the ways of Hashem isn’t frumkeit (an ehrlicher and proper response to a tragedy); it is klugshaft, it is being wise.”

Because wise people understand that we don’t know what’s good and what’s bad with our limited minds and impaired vision.

We should therefore trust in Hashem that He is leading us in the best way. Reb Shach gave an example from the Yidden in Russia who were exiled to Siberia. Everyone thought it was a terrible decree, and those who remained at home thought they were the fortunate ones. But then the Holocaust came. Those in faraway Siberia survived, and thosewho remained home were killed by the Nazis, yimach shemom.. Sometimes, Hashem’s kindness is revealed in remarkably, concealed ways.

A Yid Doesn’t Wander

It states (21:14), ותלך†ותתע†במדבר†≠†באר†שבע

, “[Hagar] went, and wandered in the desert of Be’er Sheva.” The word ותתע†, wandered,

implies she lost her way. Rashi writes, חזרה

לגלולי†בית†אביה†, “She returned to the avodah

zarahs of her father’s home.” Hagar was Pharaoh’s daughter, and now, banished from Avraham and Sarah’s home, she returned to the pagan ways of her youth.

How does Rashi know that ותתע†implies

she returned to the avodah zarahs of her father’s home?

Maybe it just means she lost her way, and she was wandering around the desert.?

Reb Mordechai Pogromansky zt’l answered that ותתע†implies that Hagar was

wandering†about¨†and†she†couldn’t†find†her†way out of the desert. When she walked west, she feared that perhaps she should be going east. When she arrived at a location, she ridiculed herself that perhaps she shouldn’t even be there.

Such are the thoughts of those who worship idols. But in Avraham’s home, she was taught, המכין†מצעדי†גבר†, Hashem prepares

each step of mankind. Nothing happens by accident. When one goes someplace, it’s because Hashem wants him to be there.

Since it states , ותתע†wandering, about

Hagar, Rashi understood that Hagar abandoned the path of emunah, and she was worshipping avodah zarah. Reb Mordechai Pogromansky said this vort in Soviet Russia, when he was traveling with a mohel from Pinsk to perform the mitzvah of bris milah. They accidentally missed their stop, so they crossed the tracks and waited for a train to take them back to where they should have gotten off. As they waited for the train, the mohel expressed his anxiety.

“Why weren’t we more alert? I don’t have time for these delays.” Reb Mordechai explained to the mohel that everything is bashert, and there is certainly a reason they had to be in this location. Because to think ותתע†that they wandered and arrived at the

wrong destination is to think in the ways of avodah zarah.

They were still waiting for a train when someone ran over to them and said, “I need a†mohelƆDo†you†know†where†I†can†find†a†mohel? My son is eight days old today.”

The reason they missed their stop was now understood. It was to perform a bris milah at that precise location.

The Chemdas Shlomo zt’l sent his students on a mission to seek an appropriate shidduch for his daughter and gave them permission to finalize†the†shidduch†when†they†find†something suitable.

The students came to a town where they met with a very clever young man, a genius in Torah, and they completed the shidduch.

On their way back, they made a stop in Lublin to receive the blessings and to hear the divrei Torah of the Chozeh of Lublin zt’l. The Chozeh told them that sometimes a person goes on a mission, and he fails.

He must know that there was another reason why he was sent there. It was bashert that he should make this trip; it wasn’t for nothing. The Chozeh proved this from , נ”ך

when Shaul and an aide searched for Shaul’s father’s donkeys. The aide said to Shaul (Shmuel 1, ch.9), הנה†נא†איש†≠†אלוקים†בעיר

הזאת†והאיש†נכבד¨†≠†נלכה†שםƆאולי†≠†יגיד†לנו†את

דרכנו†אשר†≠†הלכנו†עליה†, “Behold there is a

very respected prophet in this city. Let’s go to him. Perhaps he will tell us the path we took.”

The†grammar†of†this†pasuk†is†difficultƆIt†seems that the wording should be written in future tense: “Perhaps he will tell us the path we should take.” Why did he say, “Perhaps he will tell us the path we took” in the past tense?

The Chozeh explained that they understood that if they searched, unsuccessfully, for the donkeys, there must be some other reason they were there. The navi could tell them the true purpose of their trip.

Then, Shmuel HaNavi anointed Shaul as king. The real purpose for their wandering was understood. The students returned to the Chemdas Shlomo and told him about the wonderful shidduch they found. But in the end, this shidduch didn’t work out.2 The students returned to the Chozeh and asked, אולי†יגיד†לנו†≠†את†דרכנו†אשר†≠†הלכנו†עליה, perhaps

you can tell us the path we took.” They knew that they didn’t take this long trip for no reason at all.

The Chozeh told them, “The purpose was so that you will become my students,” and that’s what happened.