Mrs. Bronspegler* shared an incredible story that happened just a few weeks ago:
The day before Erev Shavuos, two major appliances in our home suddenly stopped working. Our kitchen refrigerator was no longer cooling properly, and at the same time, the freezer in our garage also started malfunctioning.
At first, we were not overly concerned. The refrigerator had been loaded with hot food the night before, so perhaps it simply needed time to cool down. As for the garage freezer, its door had accidentally been left slightly ajar overnight, which could have explained why it seemed warmer than usual.
By the afternoon, however, it became clear that something was genuinely wrong.
With Yom Tov rapidly approaching, I felt increasingly uneasy. It was far too late to call our regular repairman, and I was hesitant to contact a random technician, uncertain whether anyone would even be available and how much it might cost at the late hour.
Instead, I turned to Hashem. I davened that everything should work out smoothly and with the least expense possible.
Looking back, the first miracle may have been my own reaction. Under normal circumstances, I would have been extremely stressed. Yet throughout the ordeal, I remained surprisingly calm. I truly believe that years of reading and hearing stories of bitachon helped me place my trust in Hashem and remember that He was in control.
Several weeks earlier, I had been informed that I qualified for a new refrigerator through the SCN program. Since our refrigerator had now broken, I called to ask whether final approval had been granted. To my delight, they informed me that it had.
I explained the situation and asked whether there was any possibility of receiving the refrigerator before Yom Tov. They promised to try and immediately forwarded my information to the appliance store.
The paperwork took some time to process, but at approximately 3:45 PM, I received an extraordinary phone call. The store informed me that they would arrange a special Erev Yom Tov delivery to help us out.
The replacement refrigerator was not as large as our regular one, but together with the small overflow refrigerator we normally use for Yom Tov, it was more than sufficient to get us through the holiday.
After Yom Tov, our repairman came to investigate both appliances.
The problem with the garage freezer turned out to be relatively simple. The drain had become blocked, causing ice to build up around the fan that prevented it from operating properly. He showed my husband how to melt the ice and clear the drain, restoring the freezer to full operation.
The refrigerator was more puzzling. It appeared to be functioning, yet it simply was not getting cold enough. The repairman suspected that the thermostat might have been defective and gave us information on how to order a replacement. In the meantime, he suggested removing the accumulated ice from the bottom of the freezer compartment.
He told us he would return to install the thermostat once the part arrived and would charge us at that time. To our surprise, after clearing out the ice and restarting the refrigerator, it began working normally. By the next morning, it was fully cold once again.
We called the repairman to let him know that we no longer needed the thermostat installed and asked how much we owed him for his visit. His response left us speechless.
He told us that it was his mother’s yahrtzeit, and in her memory he wanted to do a kindness. He would not charge us anything. Not a penny.
To this day, I can hardly believe that both our kitchen refrigerator and garage freezer stopped working on Erev Yom Tov, and yet everything was resolved so smoothly. We received a replacement refrigerator in time for Yom Tov, both appliances were ultimately repaired, and the entire ordeal cost us nothing.
