My son wanted very much to subscribe to the Hashgachah Pratis Magazine for the year. He heard his friends talking about fugitives from a ship docked in Italy, about the stories in the comics inside the magazine, and about other columns for children. One boy brought a special box to class that his sister had made by following the instructions in the arts and crafts column. In short, his class was raving about the magazine. Moreover, his melamed also told a story he’d read there, and he told the children that if they were reading something interesting, it was preferable to read things that strengthened emunah.
I understood that this was something that was really exciting the children, and it made me quite upset. There are so many newfangled things nowadays that lure our children, may Hashem safeguard us from such things, and I am suspicious of anything new.
I told my son, “Bring me the magazine from one of your friends, so I can see it and decide whether to order a subscription.”
My son started working on getting me a magazine to see. He spoke to neighbors and asked a friend. One of them forgot, and the other actually wanted to bring it but he told my son that it had gotten torn. Time passed, and things didn’t move along.
During bein hazmanin we rented an apartment for a Shabbos. We got permission to play with the owners’ games and read their newspapers and...what did we discover? Inside their newspaper box was a Hashgachah Pratis Magazine.
My son was overjoyed, and he wasn’t the only one. He read the entire magazine over Shabbos, and his brothers and sisters also read various columns. I did as I’d promised – I looked over the content of the magazine from beginning to end. I had planned on checking the content for my son, but discovered there were things there of interest to me as well. That Sunday we called to order a subscription.
I thought about what a beautiful beginning this is to the new year. We’re coming to Rosh Hashanah with a clear statement that we want to crown Hashem as King over us at all times, through emunah in hashgachah pratis. Yasher koach!
