Overwhelmingly Random
People buy lottery tickets because the payoff is worth a few bucks. But how likely are you to win? Well, the odds are about 1 in 300 million. Let’s put that in perspective. You are 240 times more likely to be struck by lightning this year than you are to win the lottery.
Of course, winning the lottery is about 213 times more likely than two people having the same fingerprints, so maybe the odds sound a little better. But let’s look at the lottery idea. We know that before our nation went into Eretz Yisrael (Israel), a lottery was held for various parcels of land, and the results were that larger families got larger portions. What are the odds of that? Well, I guess you would have to multiply the number of families and the size of the land and the number of times it came out exactly, to realize that the randomness is overwhelming.
Too Random=Not Random at All
That’s why we believe that Hashem (God) is in control of what seems to be random, and in His infinite wisdom and knowledge, arranges and orchestrates things that would otherwise seem left to chance. I think if we were to look at situations that happen in our lives and try to calculate the odds of some of them, we would see evidence of Hashem’s unique fingerprint in our lives.
I know it’s happened to me many times and I am sure others have experienced the same thing. Sometimes you’re learning something in Torah, and then all of a sudden, it comes up again in a very different arena. I, for example, was learning Meseches Taanis and it was Shabbat, the day before Tisha B’Av, when there is a discussion about whether you can learn Torah topics that don’t relate to Tisha B’Av. The daf (page) I was up to was daf lamed, which discusses Tisha B’Av and the Nine Days! I didn’t plan it, but Hashem certainly did.
Often, I’ll find something I found on the Parsha (weekly Torah portion) coincides with something I hear in a class on a different topic, or a story someone just told me is perfect for a discussion I’m part of. What are the odds? Based on the frequency with which it happens, I’d say they’re pretty high, though not mathematically so.
From a Shul in Lakewood…
I write a weekly Parsha sheet. Someone from the West Coast e—mailed me that he’d like to sponsor. I apologized and said that week had already been taken, sponsored for a cousin’s Bar Mitzvah in the Lakewood area. He replied that “completely randomly, I was at that shul on Shabbat.”
Yes, this fellow from California “happened” to be on the East Coast, in the Lakewood area, and “happened” to end up at the very shul where this Bar Mitzvah was happening. How many shuls are there in greater Lakewood? In New Jersey? On the East Coast? In the United States? And of all the shuls in all the towns, in all the world, he walks into mine. What are the odds?
…To a Bus in Jerusalem
I recently noted that the word “happened” has the letters HP – standing for Hashgacha Pratis (divine providence) – built right in as a hint to us. When we comment that something “happened” to be, we should see Hashem’s imprint on our lives.
I was in Eretz Yisrael when Iran was shooting missiles and drones. The Old City was closed to outsiders, and you couldn’t get to the Kotel. A neighbor told me he’d been allowed in on Shabbat, so Motzai Shabbat (Saturday night) I went. When I got there, I was told I couldn’t enter, but I went to the plaza exit, and a few minutes later, a group of us were allowed in. It felt like I’d won the jackpot.
The next week, I decided on Shabbat afternoon that I would go back. However, after Havdalah, I simply had no desire to go. I realized something was amiss, and eventually I forced myself to go. I was glad I did, in the end, and then I headed to the bus.
As I sat down, I began speaking to a young man who was learning in Yeshiva in Jerusalem. We spoke a bit, and then he said, “You’ve been here at least a week and a half; I saw you at Zichron Moshe (A shul).” What? How did he remember I had davened in that location on my first morning in Israel? It was the only time I did, and he didn’t know me.
“I saw someone embarrass you publicly and you didn’t respond,” he said. “It made an impression on me.” Directly from my flight that morning, I dropped off my bags and ran to pray. At one point, I pulled out my phone to see what time zman kriat shema (Shema recital deadline) was, and some boy yelled at me for using a phone in shul. He was right so I quietly put it away and didn’t respond.
You Can Bet on It
What are the odds that this boy would be there, notice, and then be in the seat across from me on a bus two weeks later, and get the chance to tell me the story after I initiated the conversation? Normally I’d say astronomical, but because Hashem was involved, it wasn’t very farfetched at all. It’s just one more proof that Hashem is involved in our lives in minute detail, and we should realize that nothing is left to chance. Wondering if Hashem cares about you and pays attention? You can bet on it.
By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
Rabbi Gewirtz (Operation Inspiration) welcomes comments and feedback. Write to him at info@JewishSpeechWriter.com to share your thoughts. You never know when you may be the lamp that enlightens someone else.
