In Parshas Va’aira we are exposed to some of the miraculous wonders that so famously surround the Egyptian Exodus. Staffs turn into snakes, water turns into blood, frogs overrun the country, lice infest man and beast alike… one after the next, Hashem’s hashgacha pratis is put on full display for all to see.
…וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַחַרְטֻמִּים אֶל פַּרְעֹה אֶצְבַּע אֱלֹקים הִוא
Even the sorcerers of Egypt proclaimed, “This is the finger of G-d!” (8:15).
And yet, “The heart of Pharaoh was hardened,” – Pharaoh refused to admit that all functions of creation – big, small, and everything in between – rely on the intimate intervention of the Almighty. Pharaoh just could not bring himself to confess that there is no such thing as nature.
We have a mitzvah to remember Yetziyas Mitzrayim every single day – it is a mitzvah that profoundly permeates our individual practices, as well as our collective Jewish consciousness. At the core of this crucial commandment is the eternal mission of the Jew: to perceive and appreciate the undeniable presence of the Yad Hashem in each and every aspect of his life. With just a little training, one can see Hashem’s clear and undeniable orchestration in practically all of existence.
Take shidduchim, for example. How many stories have you heard containing the countless unaccountable “coincidences” that are involved in seemingly every single match? (Some details in the following account have been changed and some degree of license has been taken for the sake of enhancing the drama portrayed within.)
It was Sunday, December 12th, 1976. She was aboard American Airlines Flight 2232 with non-stop service from LAX to DTW. It was a long flight, and she was grateful when the stewardess finally came down the aisle holding her specially ordered kosher meal. She was also relieved. Lately, during her extensive travels, there had been so many mishaps and mix-ups involving her kosher meals that she was delighted to see that this time at least, she had experienced no trouble at all.
The young man several rows ahead, however, was, alas, not so fortunate. She studied the yarmulke sitting atop his head, and observed him quietly motion to the stewardess after all the meals had been distributed. He asked in a polite, respectful manner about the kosher meal he had ordered, but he had not yet, in fact, received.
The stewardess looked down at her clipboard, checked his seat number, his ticket, and then the clipboard again. “I’m very sorry, sir, but I’m afraid your travel agent must have made a mistake. There was no order placed on your behalf for a kosher meal. I’ll be glad to give you a standard airline meal.”
The young man smiled. It was hard to explain “kosher” to people who were not Jewish, but he tried his best. “Can you have fruit?” the stewardess asked. “I think I have some in the galley.” The young man indicated his assent, and the stewardess hurried off.
In the seat several rows behind, the young woman watched the scenario unfold. She had been through this exact situation herself countless times before. She knew how much the young man had probably depended on the kosher meal, and that men, unlike women, rarely packed anything in advance just in case. She gestured to the stewardess.
“I have a kosher meal here, and I’ll be glad to share it with the man up ahead. Please bring this and this and this to him. Thank you so much.”
The stewardess brought the food over, and the young man turned around gratefully and pantomimed his appreciation. At the flight’s end, when the passengers began to disembark, she was surprised to find the young man waiting for her at the gate.
“I just wanted to thank you personally,” he said. “That was a very nice thing for you to do.”
“Oh, it’s okay, really,” she said. “Believe me, I understood what you were going through.”
“I’d like to introduce myself,” he said. “My name is Yisroel Brown.”
“Hmm,” she said, frowning in puzzlement, “your name sounds so familiar….”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Shira Burg,” she replied.
“I’ve heard your name before, too! But from where?” he wondered aloud.
Then he snapped his fingers. “Oh, I know! A shadchan once mentioned your name to me…. She said very nice things about you, actually.”
“Oh, yes, of course, that’s why your name sounds so familiar,” Shira laughed, awkwardly. “The shadchan mentioned your name to me as well!” There was an uncomfortable silence as the two shifted uneasily. The young man stared down at the floor, embarrassed.
Shira seized the courage to speak first. “I was actually interested in meeting you, but later, the shadchan got back to me and said you weren’t interested at all. May I ask you why?”
Flustered, he mumbled, “She mentioned that you’re pursuing graduate studies. I told her I didn’t want a college girl.”
“Why not?” She asked.
“I didn’t think a college girl would be so interested in being involved in chessed, which is very essential to me.”
“Oh really!” she challenged in a chiding voice.
With an apologetic grin he remarked, “But I see now that I may have made a mistake.”
Today’s post was written in honor of the above “Match Made in Heaven” – and what would have been the 44th wedding anniversary of my late father, zichrono livracha, and my beloved mother, shetichyeh, ad me’ah v’esrim shanah. The two were wed on Chai Teves, 5738 / December 27th, 1977, and together they lovingly raised a family of five upon the firm foundations of chessed and ahavas Yisroel. And every year around this time, the family likes to reminisce and recognize the obvious etzbah Elokim involved in that very first “chance” encounter.
‘In my mind, another miracle – not the obvious kind, but no less wonderful… The Hand of Hashem!’
In the early 1970s while studying in Ner Yisroel Toronto, Yerachmiel Begun created, directed, and recorded two successful albums with the Toronto (Pirchei) Boys Choir. In 1977, he formed his “Miami Choir Boys,” and released their debut album “Victory Entebbe” following the heroic hostage-saving maneuver carried out by the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on July 4th, 1976.
In 1981, the uber-versatile singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Gershon Veroba teamed up with Begun to form the group, Judáea. Joined by Michael Antellis, Michael Maimon, Jonathan Rimberg, Allan Schwartsberg and Dudi Weiss, Veroba would sing lead vocals, co-arrange, and even co-write some of the lyrics for the songs recorded on their one and only album, The World to Come.
⭐Let’s hear what the legendary performer had to say about this iconic release:
‘One thing the listeners might want to know is that if they bought the Judáea CD (or its subsequent digital copies), they may have noticed that the album is a half-step higher than the original LP and cassette recordings. This is because when the CD was being digitally re-mastered, they must have had the tape running slightly quicker than it should have been, and this resulted in the newer audio being a half note “faster.” Just a fun fact for all of you audiophiles out there!
It is my firm belief that songs, especially the English ones, should always leave a lasting impression. They should make you reflect and help you grow and change. So as far as today’s featured song goes, The Hand of Hashem was written by Yerachmiel and myself (with lyrics by Begun and Chesky Kleiner, a’h) in order to emphasize the fact that we are all prone to taking miracles for granted. Instead of making a concerted effort to recognize the hand of Hashem, we often find ourselves rationalizing the miraculous occurrences in our lives – the big, the small, and everything in between – casually justifying them to fit within the realm of “nature.”
We wanted to use a modern-day miracle as an example, so we used the 1976 Entebbe raid: ‘Remember how, we freed those captured men? / We said now, it surely was heaven sent. / But now it’s all different, there’s nothing unusual, / We planned it out right, we flew through the night / What’s there to believe!?’
After the open miracles that took place during the Gulf War in January of 1991, we reconstructed that verse to reflect the recent events for the performance at the First Annual Miami Experience: ‘Remember when, the scuds fell in the sand? / We said then, that’s where Hashem made them land. / But now it’s all different, there’s nothing unusual, / When miracles pass, the faith doesn’t last / What’s there to believe!?’
I hope all of this helps the listeners understand the song in a more meaningful way. A song like this was not meant only to entertain, but also to inspire – Enjoy!‘
As we say here at Jewish Musical Notes – Listen. Connect. Reflect. Repeat.
Wishing you a providential Shabbos Mevorchim Chodesh Shevat!
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