01 Aug EKEV: YES, WE’RE LUCKY

Once, when I was paying
a shivah call, the family
turned me and asked,
“Rabbi, please tell us,
what does Hashem want
from us? What is He

doing?”
They explained that soon after the
grandfather died, a grandson was in a car
accident. Thank goodness, he was ok. Then
another grandson was in an accident, and
hurt his hand. Then another grandson fell
and needed switches. While all this was
going on, the roof of a building that the
family owned was severely damaged. The
family was very distraught, and they asked
me for my thoughts on the matter.
I answered, “Let’s imagine you’re in a
store, and a gunman storms in and starts

firing bullets. Only one person is hit, non-
fatally, in the arm. You’re that person.

“Would you consider yourself lucky or
unlucky?”
We discussed this question for several
minutes. On the one hand, the person might
feel unlucky, that he was in the wrong place
at the wrong time, that he happened to be in

a store at the time of a shooting attack, and
he happened to be the one person who was
struck by a bullet. But on the other hand,
there is nobody luckier than this guy. He
was shot by a gunman – and suffered a
minor injury from which he would be fully
cured in just a few weeks.
This was my response to this family. It
might feel like a lot of bad things are
happening, but in truth, they are very
lucky. One grandson left a car accident with
no injuries at all. Another grandson left a car
accident with a minor injury that will soon
be completely healed. A third got hurt and
the stitches will repair the wound and make
him good as new. The roof of the building
will be fixed and everything will be fine.
They were very lucky.
In Parashat Ekev, Hashem tells Beneh
Yisrael, “You must know in your heart, that
it is like a father punishes his son that
Hashem your G-d punishes you”
(8:5). When things are difficult, we might
react by complaining, by worrying, and by
asking, “Why is Hashem doing this?!” But
Moshe Rabbenu teaches us that this is not
the right reaction.

Hashem is our father. Sometimes a father
must punish a child, or deny his child certain
things, as part of his responsibility to care
for him, to educate him, and to discipline
him. The child does not understand, and
feels he is being treated unfairly, but
eventually, he will grow up and realize that
he was very lucky to have a father who took
such good care of him and who raised him
so well. We, too, might not understand why
Hashem does what He does, but with a little
change in perspective, we will realize that
we are very lucky, that we have a Father
who loves us and who is caring for us at all
times, even during difficult situations.
In the next pesukim, Moshe tells the people
that they would soon be entering Eretz
Yisrael, a magnificent land filled with
blessings. He was telling them that even
though things might sometimes be painful,
they must never forget how fortunate they
were, that they have been given so many
wonderful blessings. Similarly, when we
face hardship, we must remember how
lucky we are. Sometimes, difficult situations
offer us the opportunity to gain new
appreciation for our family members,
relatives and friends who support and help

us. Very often, such situations remind us
how fortunate we are to live in our
community, which has systems in place to
care for everyone in need, for anyone going
through any sort of crisis. When we see it
from this perspective, we appreciate how
Hashem is caring for us like a loving father,
always looking out for our needs even in
periods of hardship.
When we feel that life is becoming hard,
let us try to remember that Hashem is
controlling everything in our lives, and He
always loves us as a father loves his
child. And let us try to look around and see
all the wonderful blessings in our lives, and
we will then appreciate just how lucky we
really are.