For years I have dreamed of connecting to a Shabbos generator. Each time someone talks about it or advertises it I get excited, but then it dies down, because a generator costs so much money, and where would I get the initial sum and then be able to fund the monthly use of it? So in the meantime it remained just a dream.
Lately, two things happened that caused me go ahead with it: One was changes in the infrastructure on the street where I live. Due to these changes, there was an opportunity to connect to a generator for a reasonable price. The other thing was that a large sum was deposited in my account by someone who owed me money from eight years back.
I started speaking to whoever I had to and found out about prices, and the whole time I was deliberating whether to connect the air conditioner as well, because air conditioning significantly raises the cost of using the generator. I asked for a sign from Shamayim to know what to do, and Hashem sent it to me.
It was during bein hazmanim. We left our home for several days, after organizing and packing and cleaning the house. When we arrived at our destination we unpacked, and finally it was quiet and the young children fell asleep. I thought that very soon I too would close my eyes and sleep, but just then the phone rang. It was the technician for the generator. He wanted to come and see our apartment, the electric box, and everything else in order to determine a price and to come to an agreement. I was thinking that climbing a mountain would have been easier than doing what I had to do then. I gathered my strength and traveled back home. The place where we were staying was not too far from our home, and I made my way despite my exhaustion and the exertion of that day.
While in the stairwell I smelled something burning, and the smell got stronger and stronger as I came closer to my home. When I went inside, I discovered that we’d accidentally left the oven on with what had once been fish inside it.
I recalled that we’d spoken about taking baked fish with us; we were supposed to take it, but each of us assumed the other had already turned off the oven, and ultimately we left without it.
I am still trembling from the thought of what would have happened if the oven had been left on for another few days. At that moment it was already clear to me: Shabbos was taking care of me; I did not have to worry about how to pay all the expenses of the generator. When the technician arrived we came to an agreement on the entire package, including the air conditioner.
