A man was working late at night in a tall office building. By the time he realized how late it was the building had already been locked for the night and he needed someone to help him get out. The one window that he found that could be opened was on a very high floor and people passing by on the street below could not hear him scream for help. He had money in his pocket so he figured if he throws down dollar bills people would look up to see where it is coming from.
He stood there emptying his pockets throwing down a significant amount of money. Unfortunately the people excitedly picked up the money but didn't bother looking up. After a while he was out of money but still nobody noticed him. He then decided to throw down water. As soon as he threw the first bucket of water, an angry crowd looked up wanting to know who was up there and what was going on.
Hashem sends us all kinds of blessings from Shamayim hoping to catch our attention. Some people just pick it up and enjoy it without asking any questions or looking around to identify the source. Hashem then says, “Unfortunately, I need to throw something else to get their attention.” Hashem throws the first “bucket of water” and we look up.
The Chofetz Chaim writes in “Ahavas Yisroel” (ch 5): “In reality, a person needs to think deeply and see for himself that his evil inclination persuades him every day to hide from comprehending the enormity of Hashem’s acts of goodness and kindness. Consequently, it prevents the person from giving proper praise to Hashem for these acts.”
This Chag HaPesach, we have a great opportunity to transform ourselves into people who constantly recognize every blessing that our Father in Heaven sends to us.
