ChinuchAtHome

For those of us who live in Israel now, and have been fortunate to feel Hashem's presence in our lives, I am happy to share some of my perceptions with you.  I am not saying that Hashem is not in Chutz La'aretz (outside Israel), but what I'm saying is that I feel more of Hashem when I'm living here.

Little things that we can take for granted can be missed and misplaced if we don't appreciate them when they happen.  When we first moved here, we found so much chesed among our neighbors and new acquaintances including taxi drivers.

I have a knack of forgetting if I don't jot things down, so I'm finally putting down to words these special things I noticed that I can call Hashem's involvement in my life.

Here are some examples:

• We spent our first Shavuos in Israel as a one day holiday, not two.  It was followed by Shabbos.  I was busy buying things I don't have with me from my old country and at the same time trying to make a two-day yom Tov followed by Shabbos at home.  I forgot to get certain things, and that included yahrzeit candles.  By the time I remembered them, it was already close to the holiday and certainly no shops were open.  I knocked on my neighbors' doors.  The first neighbor didn't have one.  We needed three at least.  My second neighbor gave us one.  My third neighbor gave us another one and another neighbor gave us the third one.   My second neighbor told me later that she wasn't planning on getting two yahrzeit candles as she had no need for them. She only needed one as she expected to use it as a pilot light to transfer flames.  On Yom Tov, we cannot create a new light but we can transfer from an existing light which we call a pilot light.  Somehow, she couldn't explain why she got two candles but she got them.  Well, I know that Hashem always created a cure before the disease.  So, He is involved in my neighbor having to buy 2 lights instead of one because He knows that I needed one.

• One Shabbos afternoon, this neighbor of mine came to me for some rolls, if I had any to spare, for Seudas Shelishis, the third meal.   I gave her a few that I did have.  Strangely enough, I happened to buy these extra rolls without a reason.  I just bought them as I felt I had an urge, not because I needed them.  Again, Hashem is involved in my neighbor's needs by putting into me the urge to buy these extra rolls.  He already knows what everybody's needs are, He just arranged for everything to work out smoothly.  

• One Shabbos evening meal,  my mother-in-law had a craving for coffee ice cream as dessert.  At the time as a new olah, I was not good at finding or recognizing the flavors of the various colored ice cream products in the supermarket.  So, I told my mother-in-law that I didn't have any in the house. 
  The next day during lunch time, we had our neighbors join us for lunch and she previously offered to bring dessert.  Lo and behold, what did she bring?  You guess it right! COFFEE ice cream.  If you dismiss this as a plain coincidence then you are not seeing Hashem in this picture.   I told my mother-in-law that Hashem really loves her to give her this treat.

• When we first had our pilot trip to Israel, we were on our own.  We didn't go through any organized channels and pretty much came on our own and let Hashem drive our trip.  My husband reconnected with some of his friends he made on the Web and one of them offered to give us a free tour of the Old City in Jerusalem the next day.  My daughter was feeling quite blue as she did not know anybody her age and wanted to have a friend.  The next day, my husband's friend asked if he could bring his teenage daughter along on the trip. Hashem again came to the rescue as He saw our need even before we anticipated it.

• I wanted to spend Shabbat in a particular neighborhood in our pilot trip before it ended.  A week before, I put out my request on the community's mailing list.  I got an offer but it didn't work out.  I was disappointed as Friday was approaching.  It was Thursday afternoon and I was very sad.  I said a little prayer to Hashem.  A few minutes later, the phone rang.  It went like this, "I saw your post on the community mailing list.  Do you still need a Shabbos invite?"  Thank you, Hashem.  As it turned out, I am living in this community at the moment. 
  

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