Lessons In Emunah

Four times every Shabbos, while they were growing up, each child (and now grandchildren as well) are referred to by their full name. This turned out to be an especially good idea for several of our grandchildren who were known only by their second name.

If Hashem wants a person to have something, he will have it, and no one in the world can take away what is coming to to him.

Rafi felt so strongly in all his senses that he was right – that what he thought was up was up, and what he thought was down was down. And yet as he checked the device again and again, it told him the opposite.

Finding appropriate company for Shabbos was a challenge of its own. No longer a youngster, my mother did not enjoy coming to our homes and she did not appreciate large families with many children coming to hers.

Sounding like a typical Lubavitcher, I told that just by striking the match, she is bringing more light into the world, so what’s the problem?

This young man was particularly fine, as when his parents suggested he date someone, he didn’t bother to look at resumes or pictures, as many young men do. He trusted his parents knew his best interests, and attempted to put his best foot forward.

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.

It is known that the chassidishe boys marry young, while the Livishe boys marry a little older.

When I think back, there were other amazing occurrences that happened that day!

It was 1 a.m. when my daughter Shani and her friend Tehilla took a wrong turn and found themselves traveling along a dark, isolated stretch of road outside Jerusalem. A few moments later, they noticed a young bearded man dressed in a suit and black hat flagging them down. Tehilla was surprised when Shani abruptly stopped the car. Tehilla tried to dissuade Shani from giving the young man a ride, given the late hour.

We were making good time on Erev Pesach. The back of our car was packed with coolers filled with homemade foods for the Seder - savory Moroccan gefilte fish balls, sweet and sour turkey balls, and trays of delicious baked goods. My husband's white kittel lay atop our suitcases, together with the afikomen toys for our grandchildren. Everything felt just right. Then we heard the sound.

Like many children, some of my grandchildren tended to rush through the berachot they recited each day. Somehow, the first few words were inclined to run together. The last few words often got swallowed up, especially those that were part of berachot made before eating something they really liked.

The five-year-old boy was in a church in Puerto Rico with his parents. As they and his grandparents were Catholics, that made him Catholic – as far as his young mind could figure.

As it turned out, despite recovering sufficiently and hopeful of having more children, I never did.

I had suddenly grasped that I would have to change my whole attitude to Yitzhak, see him in a different guise from the irritating boy I had defined him as.

We called his phone, but there was no ring in the car. I knew Dovid had been fooling around with it in the car on the way over, so it wasn’t at home.

There weren't many people out that night because of the weather but Rabbi Palach continued to approach whoever he saw and asked the same question, offering the same warm invitation to come hear a Torah class.

Hopefully this story will also strengthen our motivation to try to be mikarev a fellow Jew – even if it seems on the outside like it's a lost cause and there's no use in even trying.

Nissim Menashe 50, a resident of Petach Tikvah, celebrated last Israel Independence Day like most of the country, he had a barbecue with his family....

They were genuinely thrilled, but tempered their enthusiasm somewhat with a sobering reality check, “You know he’s flying right into a winter blizzard, right?”

“If you have children, you are a millionaire. And if all of your children have children, you are a billionaire.”

It’s written, it says, with all the segulos for shalom bayis and you gave it as a gift to a chassan and kallah.

He took me to a room filled with computer equipment and said, “You pray here for as long as you want.” I couldn’t believe my ears.

In a big company with several branches throughout our metropolitan area, what are the odds that the same man who had installed the system 17 years before would be the person who arrived now to evaluate and repair it? But, of course, there are no “odds” or “coincidences” with Hashem.

Seeing my distress, a very kind employee named Lori (whose last name I regretfully forgot to ask about) very compassionately offered me the use of a stroller she just “happened to have” in the back room of their office.

Though my father lives in another area of Staten Island, he has been intermittently involved with this synagogue since its inception.

Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. The mere mention of these three potent words invariably strikes fear into the hearts and souls of God-fearing Jews everywhere. Each weekday morning, the piercing cry of the shofar penetrates our collective consciousness and urges us to mend our ways, repent our transgressions and return wholeheartedly to our Father in Heaven.

Without the funds at my disposal, I kept procrastinating the inevitable. My to-do list grew longer and hardly anything got crossed off.

Yael was tired of sticking the highchair together with glue or Sellotape. It had lasted through five children, a miracle in itself, but now it seemed to have given up all hope – and decided to self-destruct.

His oldest daughter, aka my granddaughter, had given the bright orange rubber bracelet to him several days earlier, and not wishing to insult her, he was still wearing it. It had been distributed by Hatzalah and their number was printed prominently on it.