Basya Tsybukmakher
People often ask: why does the Almighty send us such misfortunes? How could He allow righteous Jews to suffer so much? On the other hand, the good things and miraculous rescues that happen to us are often seen as… luck, chance coincidences, and the like.
Let's try to understand this through a story that took place in the United States in our own time.
3.30 a.m. Rabbi Mordechai Sultan woke up with sharp chest pain. He did not understand what was happening to him. He had never experienced pain like this before. Nevertheless, Rabbi Sultan woke his wife and asked her to call Hatzalah (an international Jewish volunteer rescue service). She called and told the dispatcher: “My husband is having chest pain. He's very anxious… Please send someone to us.” The dispatcher said that an ambulance would be sent… And literally half a minute later, a Hatzalah crew knocked on the Sultan family's door.
It was clear to the medics that Rabbi Sultan was in serious condition. But what exactly was causing it?
Fortunately, the Hatzalah crew had a special device with them—a LIFEPAK 12, used to diagnose heart problems and carry out emergency resuscitation. The medics connected Rabbi Mordechai to the device… Suddenly, he said he felt very unwell, and his eyes rolled back… The monitor showed that his heart had stopped! He was literally dying before the eyes of the Hatzalah volunteers and his family! The medics immediately used the defibrillator, and an electric shock “restarted” Rabbi Sultan's heart… Less than a minute later, he regained consciousness, began talking, and recognized those around him. There was just one thing Rabbi Sultan did not know: what had actually happened?
This miraculous story extends far beyond the events that took place late that night in Rabbi Mordechai Sultan's home.
Several days earlier, a Hatzalah volunteer had received a call from a relative who lived in a mountainous area 160 km from New York. He said that his son had been feeling unwell for several days and was very weak. Local doctors had examined him and reported that he had heart problems. The parents decided to send their son to a major children's hospital in Philadelphia. To do so, they contacted Hatzalah. Given the seriousness of the situation, the Hatzalah staff loaded extra equipment into the vehicle that was not part of the standard kit and was not usually taken on calls. Among this equipment was a LIFEPAK 12.
Driving to the boy's home and then taking him to the hospital took almost an entire day. The Hatzalah crew was completely exhausted that day. On the way back, the driver accidentally missed the turn he needed on the highway… Then another one. Eventually, they made a turn, but the road they chose passed through a town where they had to drive for fifteen minutes before returning to the right highway. The crew was struggling with all their might against exhaustion; it was the middle of the night… 3.30 a.m. While driving through this small town, the Hatzalah crew received that very call from Rabbi Sultan's wife, and thirty seconds later they were exactly where they were needed…
Now let's look at this whole story as independent observers who saw everything from beginning to end.
Even before Rabbi Sultan woke up feeling unwell, his “rescue” was already rushing toward him! The special device, which is not part of Hatzalah's standard medical kit, had not been put in the vehicle to save Rabbi Sultan. And certainly, no one could have expected that a tired driver who missed two turns would bring the ambulance to precisely the place where it would be so badly needed! Can we believe in such a coincidence? We can, if we always remember what our Sages said (Megillah, 13b), that the Almighty “creates salvation before He sends punishment.” At times, it can be very difficult to see the Creator's hand behind a series of coincidences.
Everyone has their own suffering and pain, which often make them forget that everything that comes from the Creator is for the best.
When we have difficulty finding a job, cannot find a shidduch, or face problems raising our children—in any situation, we must remind ourselves that even before we encountered the problem, the Almighty had already prepared a solution for us. All that is required of us is to rely on Him and believe wholeheartedly that He wants only what is good for us!
Only in this way will “chance coincidences” become, for us, full-fledged hashgacha pratit, the Creator's personal guidance in our lives.
“For you [said]: The L-rd is my refuge; you have made the Most High your dwelling. No misfortune will befall you, and no calamity will approach your tent. For He will command His angels to guard you in all your ways” (Tehillim, 91:9-11).