Hashem Is on Our Side

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

והחזירנו בתשובה שלמה לפניך . The mitzvah at hand is teshuvah . Some people have done things that they wish they could be forgiven for, but they don't even know how to start the process. The damage has been done, and teshuvah seems very far away. But the Torah tells us otherwise, לא בשמים היא...כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו . Teshuvah is not far away. It can be accomplished with one's heart and mouth. Hashem is on our side, He wants us to have a full teshuvah . If we are sincere and we start the process, doing whatever we can, Hashem will carry us the rest of the way. A woman related that she was walking into her house the other day and saw a piece of paper lying on her front lawn. She picked it up to discard it, but first looked to see what was written on it. It was a short letter from her nine-year-old granddaughter, and it said, "Dear Jews in Africa, I mistakenly made fun of you. I really feel bad. Now I have a massive stomach ache and I want to get better. Please forgive me." And she signed her name. The woman then asked her granddaughter about this letter. The granddaughter said she didn't know how to get in contact with the Jews in Africa, so she threw the letter out of her window and asked Hashem to get it there. The woman told her granddaughter she happened to know someone who lives in South Africa, and she would get the letter there. When she told this person about the letter, he said he had a meeting scheduled with the chief Rabbi of South Africa, and he would give him the letter. The chief Rabbi read the letter and then sent the granddaughter a letter back saying, "I received your letter to us in Africa. You sound like a very special girl. We know that Hashem loves you, and we love you. No matter how far apart we are, Klal Yisrael are always friends. Shanah Tova , a good sweet year. From the Jews in Africa." The lesson here is clear. This girl had a strong desire to get her letter to Africa, but she didn't know how to, so she did whatever she could, and Hashem did the rest. Although sometimes we may feel completely helpless, we must always remember that results are never in our hands. All we have to do is try, and Hashem produces the results. But being that, efforts are in our hands, we must make them. We have to do what we can. I read a story in the Zichron Torat Moshe bulletin, which took place a few years ago. Rabbi Betzalel Hemich from Lev L'Achim called up Rabbi Yehuda Blumenfeld to ask him if he would be able to teach a boy and help bring him closer to Torah and mitzvot. Rabbi Yehuda Blumenfeld agreed, and every week he took a bus a long way to learn with the boy. Several months later, Rav Yehuda received another phone call from Rav Betzalel asking him if he could attend their annual Melava Malka fundraiser. It was going to take place far from where Rav Yehuda lived, and being that Rav Yehuda wasn't going to be able to donate anything anyway, he declined. Rav Betzalel persisted saying, "Please, we need you there, even for just a half hour." Rav Yehuda finally agreed and attended for the half hour that he said he would. While there, he heard Rabbi Eliezer Sorotzkin give mind-blowing stories on the mesirut nefesh that Lev L'Achim's teens experience while returning to Torah and mitzvot. A week later, Rav Betzalel called Rav Yehuda and thanked him for getting them their largest donation of the night, over $100,000. Rabbi Yehuda said in disbelief, "I didn't bring in any money, and I didn't ask anyone for money." Rabbi Betzalel explained, "After your half hour visit, you went to your father-in-law's house and ended up telling him some of the hair-raising stories that you had just heard. That week, one of your father-in-law's congregants told him that he inherited several million dollars and was asking advice on where to donate the money to. Because of what he just heard, he suggested Lev L'Achim as one of the recipients, and that's how we got our largest donation from that Melava Malka." Even a person who can't afford to help with any money could be credited with helping an organization receive tens of thousands of dollars. It is not up to us to produce the results, but it is up to us to try.