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15 Sivan 5765 - June 22, 2005 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family

Personal Miracles
by Adina Hershberg

For several years, I attended a Torah class in Har Nof, Jerusalem. One time, the rebbetzin was talking about seeing Hashem's hand in one's daily life; she was not talking about the marvelous millions of miracles that occur daily, such as the rising of the sun, the blossoming of the trees and the intricate human body that is capable of performing so many diverse tasks. She was talking about how some events recently occurred to her, and how she clearly saw Hashem's hand. She bade her audience to see Hashem's constant involvement in our daily lives. She said that the more we acknowledge Hashem's hand in daily events, the more He will reveal Himself to us. Her words inspired me and I decided to look for Hashem's guiding hand in my everyday life. As I opened my eyes and my heart even more than previously, I found that little miracles abounded in my life.

One morning, I made a mental note that I had to call several people regarding various matters. On the way to the local grocery store, I "ran" into each of them. Hashem knows how pressed for time I am. He not only saved time for me, He also reduced my phone bill. Another day, I needed to speak to a neighbor who lives up the street. Usually, the only time I see her is on Shabbat morning at shul. As I was busy doing a myriad of household tasks, there was a knock on the door. Chana had come to me! "Thank you, Hashem!" I thought to myself.

It was erev Shabbos and we were to be hosting a family for dinner. I hadn't baked a cake, because I planned to visit my parents in Jerusalem, although I had checked and popped popcorn. We also had grapes, but I thought that perhaps our guests would expect cake. (I try to bake healthy desserts, so a trip to the local grocery store would not produce such a cake.) Later on, I took the younger children to visit Saba and Savta. My parents never send us home empty-handed. What did my mother have waiting on her dining room table for us when we arrived? Honey cake and her special cookies. Moreover, my parents had bought us several jars of gefilte fish. How did they know that I needed a glass jar to grow my sprouts in?

Some more small miracles from Hashem. This past summer, we went to the United States for the first time in eleven years for a Hershberg Family reunion. There were a bundle of preparations to accomplish before flying. Not all of them could be done (like laundry) because we were to fly the day after Tisha B'Av. I made some calls to friends and relatives during the weeks before the flight. I had in mind to call my friend B. who has a child with a genetic disease. I wanted her to know that I think of them. But by the morning of the trip I had not squeezed in a call to B. and I felt badly. We left for the airport.

When we were finally through security, I heard a voice calling, "Adina! Adina!" Now back in my small hometown of Kingston, Pennsylvania, there were no other Adinas. Any call of "Adina" meant me. On the other hand, here in Israel "Adina" being called does not mean that I am necessarily being addressed. Even so, I turned towards the voice. It was my friend B. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "I'm not flying. My son is. We thought that you had left for the States weeks ago," she said. "How did you manage to get through security and come to the area where you need a ticket?" I inquired. B. replied, "I noticed a woman struggling with her luggage and with a baby in a baby carriage. I helped her out, and security just let me through." Hashem's hand was busy `scribbling' all over! Sometimes, like today, I think to myself, "Okay, Hashem, how will I see Your hand today? Last night, I dreamt about someone and I'd like to tell her my dream. I also would like to speak to M. who I just recently found out had donated one of his kidneys to his father who had been on dialysis." Well, I walked into the grocery store and who was at the check-out counter? The woman I had dreamt about was there with her toddler, and I told her about my dream. I did my shopping, checked out and then took two bags over to my car which was parked several minutes away. I came back to the store to get the rest of my bags, and as I was bending down to pick them up, in walked M. who had donated his kidney!

I have another story to tell. Rena Fineman was a newcomer to my first grade class at my Hebrew Day School. She showed up at school one day with a broken front tooth. She had fallen getting off the bus to home. Soon after that, she appeared at school with a silver cap over the broken tooth. We, in our "sweetness" started calling her Sylvia because of the silver. I remember another incident that occurred in the schoolyard about which we teased and tormented her. When her father, a rav, had a change in his job, the family moved away. She certainly didn't have many good memories of her time in our class.

One day this past Elul, I was thinking about a crisis that had occurred with our youngest child when he was about two. One Shabbos night, right before my eyes, he slipped on a landing in our apartment building. He screamed and I rushed to pick him up. For those of you who have unfortunately had a child get hurt, and you're the first on the scene to help him, you know the deep fear of not yet knowing just what damage has occurred. Well, with my heart pumping hard and my adrenalin racing, I picked Yisrael Meir up. He was a bloody mess. Later we understood that he had knocked out his upper two front teeth and swallowed them. It was a traumatic time for all of us. While reliving this crisis once again in September of 2004, all of a sudden it hit me. I thought back to Rena Fineman to whom we had been so cruel. A tooth for a tooth. I felt pangs of remorse. How could I have been so mean to Rena? How could I ever be forgiven? I had no idea where in the world Rena was living. I had no idea of her married name. (I imagined that she had married.) I prayed with immense concentration that Hashem allow me to cross paths with Rena and receive her forgiveness . . .

For a number of years, Sulam, a network of nurseries and other educational programs for religious Jewish children with special needs, has held a fundraising event in Elul, which includes speakers on topics of Jewish interest. The Sulam evening was set for a Monday night. On Sunday night I returned home late; a note from my husband awaited me. "Chanan called to say that he is getting married tomorrow night. He apologizes for not notifying us sooner, but he did not have our mailing address. "Should I skip my date with my close friend Shaina and not go to the Sulam evening? I decided to go to the Sulam evening and send my husband to the wedding. There was a slight chance that I would get over to the wedding and say "mazel tov."

I got a ride with Sheina, who also picked up a friend, Rachel. I took our things and moved over to locate our reserved group tables #23-26. I pointed to chairs at table #24, which was closest to the podium. Rachel wanted to sit at #25. For some reason I said, "Let's sit here at #24." I put down my things and said, "Hi, I'm Adina Hershberg; what are your names?" The woman to my right said, "I'm Rena Donshik." Another woman introduced herself. Sitting between the two of them was an elderly woman. "What's your name?" I asked. She said, "I'm Toby Fineman." The name seemed familiar, "Fineman . . . Rabbi Fineman? Kingston, Pa.? Hebrew Day School? Rena Fineman?" The woman sitting right next to me jumped up and said, "I'm Rena Fineman!" Trembling I said, "I'm Adina Sullum." I grabbed her arm and said, "I must speak with you!"

I took Rena away from the table and told her that I had to ask her for forgiveness for the nasty things I had said and done when we were in school together. I also told her that only two weeks earlier I had asked Hashem to find Rena for me. Rena had no memory of my having called her Sylvia nor any of the other cruel things my classmates and I had said and done. (It is amazing how traumatic events can be buried deep in the psyche.) Rena told me that she remembered falling as she was getting off the school bus at her house. She had received an "A" on a test and had been eager to share the good news with her mother. She found it hard to believe that I remembered her and her siblings.

Had Chanan sent us an invitation to his wedding in advance, I probably would have sent in a contribution to Sulam, and attended the wedding instead. Had Rena's mother not attended the Sulam evening, I would never have known that Rena Donshik was once Rena Fineman. Mulling over the Heavenly orchestration makes me tingle every time I relate this story. I feel so blessed to have received Rena's forgiveness in the month of Elul. [Ed: Truly, one can see Hashem's hand in our daily lives all the time, but one should not `play games' with this idea, and should continue to proceed with living. Hashem is certainly there, behind and in front, at all times. Just don't take this idea too far and misinterpret things that should not be misinterpreted. To somewhat paraphrase Rashi: Don't make a big thing out of your bread falling on the buttered — or the unbuttered — side. And thank you, Adina, for sharing your experiences with the readers.]

 

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