Trusting through Tranquility
It was an Erev Shabbat when my family was staying in Ashdod in Eretz Yisrael. The calendar showed the end of the month, the time when I was supposed to pay stipends to the two hundred and fifty young kollel men, who labor over Torah in our institutions in Eretz Yisrael and abroad. This is their only source of sustenance for their families.
Many thoughts flitted through my mind, as I tried to find a solution to this situation.
Then Shabbat arrived. From the moment she spread her wings over our household, and the neshamah yeteirah entered me, I felt enveloped in an otherworldly sense of peace. I placed my package of concern in the able care of Hashem, with faith that He would attend to my difficulties. I sailed upon the tranquil waters of Shabbat, as though I had not a worry in the world.
I walked joyfully to the Beit Hakeneset and delivered Torah discourses there. We sang Shabbat zemirot, as usual. Even after Shabbat left, its magic did not end. I sat in peace, committing to writing the words of Torah that I had said earlier.
My wife, noticing my serene state, could not help but wonder. “It seems like you took care of the problem of the stipends,” she stated. “Is that correct?”
“Yes!” I responded, full of faith. “Hashem will send His help very soon.”
Seeing my tremendous faith, Hashem sent His deliverance that very evening in a most unnatural manner. I was thereby able to pay the kollel men on time.
