Admittance to Hashgachah Pratit
A man once had to drive his wife to the hospital. For some (then) unknown reason, his wife asked that he bring her to a hospital farther away from their home than the one he had thought of going to. He conceded to her request and drove her there.
Imagine his surprise at discovering that at that very moment his father lay there, having recently been admitted. The son had known nothing about this.
The son stood there with a look of bafflement on his face, claiming he had no clue that his father had been admitted to this hospital. It was mere “chance” that brought him here, he averred. Then it was the hospital staff’s turn to stand in wonder. They stated that for a long while they had been trying to reach him and inform him of his father’s admission. When they finally saw him enter the hospital gates, they were sure he was here on account of his father.
The man explained that it could only be Hashem’s hand which caused his wife to insist on going to this particular hospital, just now. This manifestation of Hashem’s direct care for him made a deep impression on the man, and he felt warmed by it for a long time afterward.
- At the grave of the Tanna, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, zy”a, Meron
