What happens when the business is too successful?! That was the interesting question that Yehudah posed in a letter that wrote to us, and then went on to describe open Hashgachah pratis that he merited after he recited Birchos Hashachar bechavrusa.
Yehudah owned a fast-food restaurant in Yerushalayim. Stroes of this genre have been cropping up on every street corner in recent years, and they are often crowded with people.
Yehudah’s business succeeded beyond expectations. The store was filled with customers, who were generally impatient and wanted to get their food quickly. Yehudah opened the store from an early morning hour, when it was still chilly and the streets were still empty, so that he could start preparing for the first customers. The store closed when the streets were once again empty – yet now it was dark outside.
The work was hard and exhausting. He had to make sure he had raw materials on hand, prepare the food, serve the customers, clean up, with hardly a chanced to breathe clear air and to rest between one thing and the next.
The biggest challenge in managing the business was hiring the right workers. Not everyone who presented himself looking for work turned out to be a responsible worker that could be trusted, so Yehudah needed to be in the store for most hours of the day. To his regret, the time he had left to spend with his family kept dwindling.
Sometimes, Yehuda had to forgo family simchos because of a worker who needed to come for the evening shift but canceled at the last minute – or even worse, didn’t even bother informing him that he wasn’t showing up...
The more successful the business was, the more energy and dedication it demanded. There were those who would say that this was tzarot shel ashirim, troubles of the rich, so to speak, but Yehudah felt like he was imprisoned in a golden cage.
With time, Yehudah felt that he was not managing, and that he had no choice but to sell the business.
He began making inquiries about how he could locate a buyer who would be suited for such an establishment – who would be ready to pay a fair price for a successful business in which he had invested both money and energy.
A while passed and there were no buyers. Yehudah tried to advertise, to reach out out people in the field, he consulted with professionals and made every possible hishtadlus to find the right buyer. But the buyer he was waiting for failed to turn up.
In the shul where Yehudah davened, there was another Yid who rose early and asked the other mispallelim to recite Birchos Hashachar for him so that he could answer amen after them, a job known as being the “gabbai amen.” Yehudah also made his brachos in front of this person.
One day, that Yid did not show up. Apparently, he had to go out of town, and he had made up with another mispallel to take his place in performing this unique minhag. But that person did not keep his end of the deal...
As a result, one of the mispallelim who said Birchos Hashachar in front of the gabbai each day turned to Yehudah and asked if he could say the brachos for him, and if he could answer amen. Yehudah gladly agreed. To his surprise, the Yid gave him a page with the kavanos of amen, that had been publicized by Bney Emunim, and suggested that he have the right kavanos when answering amen. “It will be a good deal for both of us,” he promised.
That Yid began to say the brachos word for word, with kavanah and seriousness, while Yehudah also answered amen with kavanah. When he came to the last brachah – “Hagomel Chassadim Tovim,” Yehudah paid attention to the words of the brachah, and while doing so, perused the kavanah of amen to this brachah. He had enough time to study the explanation because this was a long brachah...
And this is what the Bney Emunim page said:
“Amen – it is true that we have to thank Hashem for passing the sleep from our eyes, and for the many and good chassadim that He grants us each day, and may He continue to grant us good chassadim.”
Yehudah answered a fervent amen. He thanked Hashem for the chessed He had done with him for allowing him to establish a thriving and successful business, and asked that HaKadosh Baruch Hu continue to grant him good chassadim in the future as well, and should send him a good buyer and the guide him to a different business that was less demanding on him.
What happened next does not seem to be real, but it is true:
Although Yehudah was looking for a potential buyer, at the same time he was also looking for workers to hire. After davening that day, he received a phone call from a person looking for a job. During that time, he was missing a worker, so he accepted this person happily. The worker arrived, and turned out to be very efficient. After a few days, Yehudah and this worker began to converse, and the worker told Yehudah that he came from a wealthy family, and he intended to establish a similar business. He had come to work for Yehudah with the goal of learning the ropes...
At Yehudah’s surprised face, the worker was sure that his words had been taken as a pressure tactic, so he hastened to explain himself: “Don’t worry, I’m not thinking of opening in this area.”
“Why not?” Yehudah asked with a smile.
This time, it was the face of the worker that registered utter surprise: “Why would you want me to open a business next to you?” He could not understand it...
“Not next to me,” Yehudah replied. “Simply buy my business. Why should you start from scratch?”
During the short time he had worked for Yehudah, the worker had come to see how successful the business was and he jumped at the opportunity. He set up a meeting between Yehudah and his grandfather, the one who was in charge of the family’s business decisions, and about two weeks later, the contract was signed, to the joy of both sides.
“Hagomel chassadim tovim” made sure that I should get the best deal, even beyond what I could have asked for,” Yehudah says.
But the story is not over. The answering of amen did not only open the gates of sale for Yehudah, but also the gates of purchase. Very quickly, he was able to purchase a textile importing business – a successful business with many customers and fixed work hours, so some of his day became available for learning and spending time with his children.
Because the gates of ability On High are open at the time when we answer amen, and anyone who wishes to has the ability to open the gate and to merit the treasures that he needs...
