Do Wonders

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

Hodu La'Hashem Ki Tob ! The iTorah APP has launched. Click below to download! for iPhone users https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ itorah-watch-listen-stream/ id6472929090 for Android users https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=com.itorah.app A man from Israel, who was heavily in debt, traveled to London to try to collect tzedakah on the advice of his rabbi. He spent several weeks there and it was very difficult for him to get in to see a certain wealthy man. He chased after him unsuccessfully, and then asked a big rabbi in Israel who had a relationship with this philanthropist to help him get a meeting with him. The rabbi spoke to the philanthropist and then told the man he would be calling him to set up an appointment. Just as he was about to start Mincha , he received a call from a private number. He answered and heard the voice of the philanthropist, who mentioned that the rabbi called him, and he asked how he could be of assistance. The man got so excited and was about to tell him his entire story but then he stopped himself realizing he was about to meet with someone much more important. He said to himself, I'm about to pray Mincha and I know Hashem doesn't want me to speak to a human being at the expense of praying with a minyan. He told the wealthy man he was about to pray and politely asked him to call afterward. After he hung up the phone, he felt a wonderful feeling that he had never felt before. How long had he been running after this wealthy man? How much effort had he put in just to meet someone that Hashem blessed with some money? Now he was going to talk to the richest One in the world. He also called and was willing to listen attentively to every word he was about to say. “Why don't I pray with the same excitement I would feel if I met the philanthropist face-to-face,” he thought. “Why don't I approach tefilah with the feeling that I am now coming before the One who can give me everything that I need in an instant.” This was the best tefilah he had ever prayed. He felt so close to Hashem and merited great siyata d’Shamaya from it. We all know this is true, but sometimes we forget and we need to remind ourselves. In every situation in life, we must remember, we could always turn to our Father who can help us in an instant. There is nothing too big and nothing too small. Another man said, one day his washing machine just stopped working. He called the company that he bought it from and they sent a technician to check it out. The technician came and, after trying many different things, he said the machine had breathed its last breath. There was no way to fix it. The man asked for a new machine because it was still under warranty. The technician apologized saying this particular issue was not covered. The man was stuck. A new machine would cost thousands of dollars which he simply did not have. After making various efforts, unsuccessfully, to get a new machine, he remembered he hadn't yet done the most important hishtadlut of all. He started praying like a child talking to his father. He spoke about how hard it was for him to buy a new machine and how much they really needed it. After he finished praying, he had an idea to call a handyman that he knew to come try and fix it. His wife said, if the company couldn't fix it, how would this handyman fix it? He replied, “It can't hurt to try.” The handyman came and, amazingly, was able to fix the machine and he only charged him a hundred shekels for the job. Hashem can help us with everything. We have to feel the same excitement when we come to pray to Him, at least as much as we would feel with a generous philanthropist that wants to help us. If we can do that, our prayers would do wonders.