Let There Be Light
I used to smoke. There were many tzaddikim throughout our history who smoked l’shem Shamayim. Certainly, smoking should be avoided, for it causes untold damage to one’s health. Baruch Hashem, I have quit smoking and thereby strengthened my overall health.
One Motza’ei Shabbat, when I was still smoking, I had an urge for a cigarette. But I couldn’t find my cigarette box anywhere. I asked the gentile worker who helps around the house after Shabbat if he had seen it. He answered that he had not.
A few minutes later, I found the box, but it was empty, so I threw it into the wastebasket. “Honored Rabbi,” the man said, “this box is full of cigarettes. Why are you discarding it?” he asked.
I peered into the box and found he was right. The box had become refilled with cigarettes, ready and waiting for a match. I was quite surprised at this. “A few minutes ago, when I was holding the box, it was empty. Proof is that I threw it into the garbage. Why would I throw out a full box of cigarettes when I wanted to smoke? This is really strange.”
The worker, a religious Moslem, turned to me in all innocence, and said, “Esteemed Rabbi, there is a G-d in the world Who created you and created the cigarettes. He knows that the Rav wants a good smoke, so He refilled the box.”
He asked for one cigarette, as a keepsake of this unusual incident.
This episode taught me that Hashem supervises every aspect of our lives. He said, “Let there be light” and suddenly cigarettes appeared, ready for a light.
