The Right Number at the Right Place
Once, I spent Lag Ba’Omer at the home of a talmid in Ra’anana. Suddenly, my cell phone began ringing. I was loath to pick up the call, but the caller was persistent. Finally, I answered. The man identified himself, and then asked with whom he was speaking. I answered, “This is David Pinto.”
The man almost dropped his phone in shock. After regaining his composure, he related that he had been trying to reach me for a long time, but with no success. Just now, he was trying to get through to someone else, but Hashem had ordained otherwise. He said that he was actually trying to reach a friend who was in Meron at the time, in order to ask him to pray on his behalf.
I was very moved by this twist of hashgachah pratit, which sent this man to call me exactly when I was intending to travel to Meron for the hilula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. I promised the man that I would pray for him, in the merit of the great Tanna. I added that a member of his family was scheduled to meet my wife in another few hours, when she landed in Miami, Florida. I was happy to help him by praying for him, as a form of thanks toward this family member.
