My brother-in-law in Antwerp is a sofer sta”m, and from time to time he asks me to buy him the klaf he needs and to send it to him in Antwerp. One day I had a small pack of mezuzah klafim he had requested, and I was looking for someone to bring it to him. I saw my neighbor from across the street standing outside with suitcases, presumably waiting for a taxi to take him to the airport.
“Great!” I thought. I knew it was highly probable that he was traveling to Antwerp, where his family lives, and I crossed the street with intention of asking him to bring the klafim to my brother-in-law.
We started chatting. It turned out that he was indeed heading to Antwerp for a short visit. We spoke about various topics for several minutes, and then parted ways.
Later, when he was probably already on the plane, I suddenly smacked my forehead. I had completely forgotten to ask him about the klafim! They were still in my pocket! This caused me to reflect on Hashem’s intricate supervision and involvement in every minute aspect of our lives. We may think that something will certainly happen. I had every intention, when crossing the street, of sending the klafim with my neighbor. If Hashem doesn’t want something to happen, though, he will cause us to forget what we consciously meant to do. We are not running this world. Hashem is in charge.
