In this week's Parsha we have the curses from Hashem if Klal Yisrael does not follow the path of Torah and Mitzvos.
During the curses the Passuk writes (Vayikra 26-21), 'and if you go with me as happenstance and you don't want to listen to me, and I will add on you a plague sevenfold'
The Rambam in his famous letter known as the Igeres Teiman (The letter to the Yemenites) explains the meaning of this Passuk that if we think that when something happens it is just by chance and not from Hashem who is punishing us for our sins then Hashem will punish much more severely.
The Rambam is telling us a vital message that there is no coincidence. If something goes wrong there is a reason and we are expected to do some soul searching why Hashem did it. As we find by the Shevatim (tribes), when they were on their way home to Yaakov after they bought food the first time, they found their money had been returned to their bags. The Passuk (Bereishis 42-28) writes that the Shevatim were very scared and said to each other, "what is this that Hashem did to us."
Something went wrong and their natural instinct was what did Hashem want from them. They understood it wasn't by chance but Hashem was punishing them.
Similarly we find in the Gemarah (Baba Basra 10.) Rav Pappa was ascending a ladder, a rung broke and he nearly fell. He immediately made a calculation that those punished to be killed by the Sanhedrin - Jewish high court with Sekila stoned to death, were thrown down from a high place. And since Rav Pappa nearly fell down from high up he felt it was a sign from Heaven he had done something severely wrong.
Rav Chiya bar Abba said to him, "maybe a poor man came to you for help and you never helped him and in Heaven they took this as a severe crime."
We see from here that whenever something happens, even if something small, we are meant to try and understand that Hashem has sent us a message that we have to correct something.
