Asks the Dubno Maggid, isn’t there a little Yankel in all of us? Don’t we all work and worry too much in areas that are out of our control? We may just need to say to ourselves; Yankel, you’ve been carrying that problem for far too long. Throw down your burden, and let Hashem, Who carries you and all your needs, take it from here.
“Mi shetarach b’Erev Shabbos yochal b’Shabbos – One who toils on Erev Shabbos will eat on Shabbos” (Avodah Zara 3a). Erev Shabbos: a special time of the week. Elul: a special month of the year. Combined, they enable us to open the door to our Beloved – to welcome in the Divine. The connection is closer than you think.
Later, when they had some quiet time to talk, Yisro said, “I was just wondering, we haven’t had more than a few moments to chat. Where are you from?”
The boy looked pained, then stared down at the floor and said softly, “Ramallah.”
Yisro’s heart skipped a beat. He was sure he’d heard the boy say “Ramallah,” a large Arab city on the West Bank. Quickly he caught himself, and then realized that he must have said Ramleh, an Israeli city. Yisro said, “Oh, I have a cousin there. Do you know Ephraim Warner? He lives on Herzl Street.”
The young man shook his head sadly. “There are no Jews in Ramallah.”