I often meet people who tell me: A “hashgachah pratis” story took place for me, but then the following day, everything went wrong. You tell so many stories about Yidden who saw tangibly Hashem’s yeshuah in a wondrous way, and yet there are still many other Yidden awaiting yeshuos. What exactly do you want to achieve by publicizing all these stories?”
The answer to that is: Our Rabbanim taught us that telling stories of hashgachah pratis increases emunah. Telling the story of a revelation gives us the strength to believe while in the midst of experiencing Divine concealment as well.
This week I saw for the first time a letter published in the year 5744 by Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l and Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky zt”l.
Anyone with a thinking heart will comprehend how necessary it is in our times to instill the emunah in hashgachah pratis in the heart of every single person, especially young children, for this is the central pillar upon which everything depends, and by strengthening ourselves in this mitzvah, all the other mitzvos will be strengthened as well, bs”d, and we will actualize the words, “And the righteous man shall live by his emunah.” A good thing to do in order to strengthen emunah is to record in a notebook the times when one sees or feels hashgachah pratis in daily matters. And it is easy to understand that doing so will uproot and nullify the habitual thought that everything is happenstance, that it happens through natural powers, and that “my strength and the might of my hand have made this valor for me.”
Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter shlit”a often repeats what he heard many times from Reb Elyah Roth zt”l, that his holy Rebbe Reb Shlomo of Zvhil zy”a asked him many times to open a “hashgachah pratis kollel” in Yerushalayim, a kollel where every day ten Yidden would gather together to tell each other stories of hashgachah pratis.
When such a kollel exists, “the world will look different,” Reb Shlomo said. But they did not find someone to sponsor it.
For many years, Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter shlit”a was pained that this tzaddik’s desire was not actualized. Today, dozens of years later, Reb Yaakov Meir shlit”a says: “I see that this tzaddik’s desire is finally coming to be. There is now an international kollel called “Hashgachah Pratis,” and tens of thousands of Yidden around the world are listening to and telling stories of hashgachah.
It’s tried and true: When one sees hashgachah pratis and tells others about it, it “will uproot and nullify the habitual thought that everything is happenstance, that it happens through natural powers, and that ‘my strength and the might of my hand have made this valor for me.’”
It brings emunah; it brings peace and serenity.
Call the Hashgachah Pratis phone line and see how the peace envelops you: 02-301-1300, or, *6176.
Gut Shabbat
Pinchas Shefer
