Lights, Camera, Action!

"Everything is by Divine Providence. If a leaf is turned over by a breeze, it is only because this has been specifically ordained by G‑d to serve a particular function within the purpose of creation." - Yisrael "Baal Shem Tov"

Lights! Camera! Action!
CNN cameraman motioning. Massive microphone in my face. A regret for agreeing to this interview begins to mount...

But let's rewind a few hours.
I'm preparing for the long fast of Tisha B'av (see last email), downing as much water as I can get my hands on.
Hearing about my yeshiva's plans to go to the Western Wall for evening services, I'm feeling a bit apprehensive.
"I'll be fasting and will need to conserve my energy and strength for the next 24 hours! Why go?"
In the end though, my holier (and less lazy) side won, and I was off to the Wall to share in my people's pain over this near-2000 year exile.
After a very special service, as I was preparing to leave, a friend comes running over and asks me to take his place for an interview.
With G-d's Help I somehow do the interview, and hopefully make a Kiddush Hashem -an honoring of G-d's Name- in the process.
{The video can be seen here: http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2010/07/21/nat.jewish.holiday.cnn}

After nearly not going at all, I end up perhaps affecting thousands of people worldwide who I will probably never meet.
Afterwards, I felt that this was real Hashgachoh Pratis - Divine Providence, G-d's Directing of the events in my life as part of His Great Plan.
Many of us experience "out of the ordinary" events in our lives. But what is their purpose? Oftentimes they just come and go. Granted, they're pretty cool and inspiring, and they may even cause us to point and say: "wow! That was real Divine Providence!"
But the truth is, that everything that happens in our lives is by Divine Providence. Nothing is up to chance.
G-d Has a Plan for each of us - a very detailed plan that precluded our soul's descent into this particular place & time in history. No moment is ordinary.

So what's with G-d Giving us these moments where we realize for only a moment that something Divinely orchestrated just happened?
WELL, imagine you one day decided to go to Nordstrom. like any high-class store, as you enter you hear a beautiful piano melody playing.
Not paying much attention, you decide it's one of those pianos that are automated to play on their own. As you're perusing the 3rd-floor clothing, you all of a sudden hear a mistake in the melody. Now you realize that there was someone behind the piano - playing the melody the entire time.



G-d Doesn't Make Mistakes, but sometimes He will Change the natural flow of things in our lives. Why? To remind us, that He's REALLY behind the piano the whole time. He's Orchestrating your life & my life from morning until night. Our job is to just be sensitive enough to notice these open acts of Divine Providence - these glitches in the song - and apply that to the rest of the 'ordinary' events of our lives.

'All is in the Hands of Heaven, except for the awe of heaven itself.' - the Talmud
When it comes to moral decisions, that's up to us.
But everything else, from a traffic jam to a baby's diaper - is planned for us from above. WE just have to give every moment our very best shot.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel
CNN Middle East Correspondent to Religious Affairs

A secret to Joy in Life

Hoping this email reaches you in good health and happy spirits!

There's something surprising many people don't know about. I don't know why that is, but I want you to know
that 1 of the fundamental, most important aspects of our service to G-d (& very much important in our own lives) is happiness-serving
G-d with joy. Many Jews go to synagogue. Unfortunately, sometimes it's only on days like Yom Kippur (the most solemnn day of the yr.), and they end up skipping out on Purim, Sukkot, and all of the other very fun days in our calendar.
Judaism, the life of a Jew, must always be approached with Joy. But that's not always so easy....

There is an extremely effective way our sages teach us to be happy: To know, and always remind ourselves, that EVERYTHING we see
and everything that occurs in our lives, is "Hashgacha Pratis"-Divine Providence. G-d isn't Hanging out in heaven watching the world; rather
He Runs everything that occurs to every individual-from your near car crash to the stubbing of your toe! (Even Einstein said: "I am convinced that God does not play dice (with the world").
Chassidic Philosophy (Jewish Mysticism) goes a step further, and teaches us that G-d even Decides the direction in which each and every leaf falls from a tree!
Meaning, that our whole day is run by G-d-He Helps us and we must know always that He's running the show. Therefore: "Damn, I'm stuck in traffic! It's just not fair!" Could rather be: "for some reason, G-d Decided this should be. It must therefore really be for my best benefit." Who knows, maybe in free-flowing traffic you were supposed to be in a car accident? (G-d Forbid :)
How do we know though that G-d Truly Runs everything in the world, and that he even cares about us and our little, minute daily lives?!
The stories abound; both that I've heard, and that have occurred to me in my own life-things too coincidental...
these miracles enclothed in nature that happen to us from time to time, are signs to us that EVEN the boring day-to-day activities are overseen and run by G-d! It's like when you walk into Sears and you hear a beautiful piano melody playing. You think it's 1 of those pianos that are automated to play on their own. Then you hear a mistake. Now you realize there was Someone behind playing the melody the whole time.
These "glitches" in our lives is the open divine providence, that shows us that G-d Was really behind everything the whole time. We just have to be sensitive enough to notice them and thank G-d who helps our every step "i n his heart a man plans his course but the Lord directs his steps."

Through recognizing G-d's Hand throughout our day, we can be calmer and more joyful in our lives.

Shabbat Shalom!
-Daniel