A Joke With A Lesson
Rav Yisroel Majeski was once on his way to catch a flight, but the taxi arrived late, and of course there was traffic. When he arrived at the airport, he ran to his gate to board the plane, only to find he had missed his flight.
Rav Majeski was very disappointed. He was supposed to speak, and there were no other flights leaving. He was upset.
It was only later that I realized Hashem had a plan for me; it was from Hashem’s love. You see, it was September 11.
But actually it was September 11... in 2011. That was the great plan? The twin towers fell in 2001.
People think you have to miss a plane and it has to explode for it to be hashgacha pratis. In truth, it’s both the good times and difficult times that are all from Hashem and part of His master plan.
What’s the lesson? Rav Majeski thought for a moment and realized that if Hashem loves me, He only does good for me, and I need to learn to trust Him even if it doesn’t seem to make sense. Not only when we hear that the plane crashed.
This connects to Chanukah:
On Chanukah, we thank Hashem for the great miracle that the oil burned for eight days.
The world-famous Beis Yosef question is “The first day wasn’t a miracle since there was enough oil to burn for that day.” So why do we celebrate for 8 days, not just 7?
There are literally hundreds of answers. One answer is that we realized that even the fact that oil burns is also a miracle. In other words, nature itself is a miracle. It’s not just the unbelievable parts of the world that scream out openly, like the Niagara Falls, but even your heart beating as you read this – this is a great miracle. Life is full of miracles and everything happens from Hashem.
Sara Schenirer was once in shul when the rav got up to speak a few words.
The rabbi said, “What will happen to the Jewish girls? They are going to public school. We are losing them.”
Sara Schenirer heard this and got inspired to open a girls’ school called Beis Yaakov, and the rest is history.
What’s the lesson? This one rabbi has such a neis and probably never knew he would make such an impact.
Think back to your own life. There was definitely a person who inspired you. They probably don’t even know what impact they had on you.
This connects to this week’s parshah:
Yosef Hatzaddik was stuck in prison and could have been depressed. One day, he saw two prisoners looking sad and asked them, “Why do you look so sad?” He showed warmth and care.
This led Yosef to explain their dreams, which eventually led him to explain Pharaoh’s dreams, which led Yosef to give plans on how to save the entire world from hunger. All this just by going over to someone and showing that you care. Yosef didn’t know it would save the world. One can’t know the impact of a small good action.
So too Chanukah: When they lit the candles, they didn’t know they would burn for eight days, but they tried their best, and the rest is history: the Chanukah miracle. In life, do your part and you may make a bigger impact than you think.
Shinomin was walking on the street when he saw a menorah with 1000 candles.
He was too curious, knocked on the window, and asked, “Reb Yid, why in the world are you lighting so many candles?”
“Because the miracle happened 1000 years ago, I’m lighting for 1000 years...”
“What are you talking about?” Shinomin said, “It was at least 2,000 years ago.”
The person jumped out of the window and started running.
“Where are you running?” Shinomin asked.
“I have to buy another 1000 candles...”
What’s the lesson? We light another candle every day.
Adding one more and then another. This is a great lesson in life as well: add more light to your life, step by step, and appreciate the power of a little good.
Last year, I overate. Shlome told his cousin Yudi, “I had way too many doughnuts, but this year I will control myself.”
At the grandmother’s party, Shlome was eating one doughnut after another, and Yudi asked him, “I thought you said this year you’re on a diet?”
“I am. I only eat the doughnuts without the sprinkles...”
What’s the lesson? In this world, it’s only if someone makes major changes that it seems success, but in heaven, if we try our best, that’s all that counts.
Who inspired you?
Why did Hashem do this?
