Lessons In Emunah

The fact that I was in a hurry made me think I should just take the card from him and open it for him.

After all, the exact amount one will make throughout the year is determined on Rosh Hashanah. It was only during Rosh Hashanah davening that I realized exactly what the kaparah was for.

The woman closest to her smiled and said, "I'm not, but my great grandmother was, and I like Jewish people."

Where could we go? There was no shelter anywhere! But then we noticed a small white house beside an old red barn hiding behind the trees.

One evening, that young man ‘happened’ to leave just as I did, and he chivalrously offered to walk me to my bus stop.

A Job…good girls… “I’ll get one,” I whispered furtively to Blankie. “I’ll be one of those good girls.”

He handed it to me and hmm… yes, it was definitely a private check book left unattended, with a woman’s name, address, and phone number printed at the top.

The day finally came, and with great anticipation and joy, both Einat and her husband went to the hospital.

This was just one of the odd things I heard, there were more when we visited the family sitting shiva.

As he was en route, with one scholar and one scholar-wannabe in tow, he was unfortunately involved in a too-close encounter with a huge army truck.

As he was leading the kehillah, he heard a voice in his ear instructing him “to take care of my daughter.”

Occasionally, Shimon would enquire after their children and grandchildren but for many this was too painful as they had little or no contact with them, so he had learnt over the years who he could ask and who he shouldn’t.

It was only later in the day, during afternoon carpool, that things abruptly spun out of control. Literally.

Rabbi Margalit, wanting somehow to soothe the man’s pain, began to respond but the man wouldn’t let him.

“Don’t say a word,” Mrs. P warned us with a wag of her finger. “Let the kallah think for herself.”

Although I did not know it yet, missing my stop was predestined.

I was not going to be the one to point out to her that there had been no reason for her to turn around at all.

Our reactions range from dismay to shellshock to utter helplessness. In fact, her youngest sister has yet to forgive her for the very unpleasant and unwelcome surprise that greeted us that morning.

I opened my e-mail and for the first time there was an e-mail from her waiting for me.

The woman next to me leaned even further forward, and soon started to interject comments as I spoke to the couple.

My parents knew so much but were never too proud to learn something from their children for whom they provided a proper Jewish education.

In the end, I reluctantly moved into the widow’s home on my own, and somehow managed to pull through, despite my acute disappointment and frustration.

I stood up, lurching down the hall, and collided into an old man clutching a pole with in IV bag.

Immediately people went up to him to help him, to find out what the problem was and to solve it as soon as possible.

I was instructed to stop all treatment, and I did. However, I insisted on meeting face to face with my doctor.

He loved to watch the boy’s face light up when he offered to learn with him, and that was reward enough.

Is everything in my life and daily existence a slice of paradise?

Be happy. Be grateful. God knows what he is doing. It is all happening for a reason.

We get so busy living our lives, handling our day-to-day little crises that we forget to go that one step deeper and appreciate our lives.

Before divulging the reason for her call, she took quite a while to retrace the circuitous route that had led her to me.