DIVINE PROVIDENCE ON THE NIGHT WATCH

Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

He recalled that on the day of his brother’s murder, he was with his friends on a trip through northern Eretz Yisroel. During the journey, as their bus was making its way along the winding roads of the Galilee, he dozed off and suddenly had a heart-stopping dream. He saw his murdered brother in a vision, dressed in white, telling him that he is about to leave this world. He then asked him to take care of his mother and grandmother, as they would soon receive the worst possible news…

The following amazing incident took place on the 12^th of Elul last year. Rabbi Yehoshua Appel, mashpia from Yerushalayim and coordinator of the English speakers’ program at the Ohr Chaya Seminary, had returned with his wife Gitty from a short visit to New York. They spent most of their time in Crown Heights at a family wedding and bar-mitzvah. They never imagined how the hand of Divine Providence would reach out to them upon their return to Eretz Yisroel, as they participated in a fascinating story after an exhausting twelve-hour red-eye flight.

“I have already told this story dozens of times, at almost every available opportunity – whether at a Torah class or at a gathering among friends,” said Rabbi Appel with a tinge of deep emotion and excitement in his voice. “Weeks have passed since it took place, and I still become very moved every time I retell the tale. We are Chassidim who believe in Divine Providence, and we have long been taught to see how everything that happens in life is not ch”v by chance. There is a Higher Power directing everything from Above, but when we see this so clearly and plainly, it gives it all much more significance and meaning.”

IS THERE SPECIAL DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN ERETZ YISROEL?

“It was on a Thursday evening. We returned from Beis Chayeinu after being privileged to see and to be seen, as we drew much strength from the m’shaleiach. The El-Al flight landed in Eretz Yisroel after midnight, and at around half past four in the morning we finally found ourselves looking for a taxi service to take us to our home in central Yerushalayim. Anyone familiar with the process of arranging travel from the airport knows that the Nesher Taxi Company is usually in charge of transporting passengers to Yerushalayim, and we proceeded towards their taxi stand to get into a waiting vehicle.

“When the manager heard that we were from Yerushalayim, he directed us to a cab that was slowly filling up and getting ready to depart. However, when we told the driver where in Yerushalayim we were going, he asked us to get into another cab, because he was going to a different part of the city. We went back to the stand and told the manager that we would need another vehicle, but for some reason, he stubbornly wanted us to get into this cab. He even argued with the driver, exercising his authority in the process. Eventually, the driver consented and we got into the cab, tired and exhausted.

“A few minutes later, a young Israeli man got into the car. He said that he had been residing for some time in Barcelona, and he had just arrived in Eretz Yisroel to visit his ailing father, who lives in Yerushalayim’s Armon HaNatziv neighborhood. The trip from Spain was a relatively short one, and so he appeared quite refreshed after his flight. As soon as he saw me, he turned to me with a request: ‘Rabbi, please say an interesting D’var Torah.’

“When a Chassid is asked to share some inspiration, he simply can’t refuse. I thought about what to say until I finally decided to talk about the concept of Divine Providence in Eretz Yisroel, ‘A land that the eyes of Hashem, your G-d, are upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.’ I explained to this young man the difference between the Divine Providence existing in Eretz Yisroel and Yerushalayim, as opposed to the Divine Providence that exists in the country and the city from where he just came.

“He listened most attentively, but when I finished, he said that he must disagree with what I had said. He explained that he knows a little bit about statistics, and it clearly shows that people are injured in Eretz Yisroel no less than in Chutza La’Aretz – perhaps even more. To prove his point, he told me that his best friend had been killed in a terrorist attack in Yerushalayim several years ago. ‘How you can talk to me about Divine Providence?’ he asked.

“I proceeded to explain that his friend’s death was also by Divine Providence, even though we are incapable of understanding it. To help my words to penetrate the mind and heart of this young man, I had to find a story that could serve as a fitting illustration. At this point, my wife reminded me of something she had heard from two of her friends.

A DREAM, A BUTTERFLY, AND A TRANSFORMATION

About ten years ago, Mrs. Appel’s friends, Mrs. Wisnefsky and Mrs. Kaplan, both members of the Chabad community in Yerushalayim’s Har Nof neighborhood, visited the Mevasseret home of the Eliraz family, whose son Ro’i had been murdered by a suicide bomber on Yerushalayim’s #4 bus near the city’s Klal Building. The women had come on behalf of the Chabad House to comfort the family and strengthen them during those difficult days. The visit took place a few days after the end of Shiva, and they brought gifts to the family and gave them some words of faith and encouragement.

The parents were not home at the time, and the women were greeted by the family’s thirteen-year old daughters, who were very happy to see them. During their visit, the older brother, Guy, came in, and the women were happy to have him join the conversation. Guy then asked if he could tell them about something amazing.

He recalled that on the day of his brother’s murder, he was with his friends on a trip through northern Eretz Yisroel. During the journey, as their bus was making its way along the winding roads of the Galilee, he dozed off and suddenly had a heart-stopping dream. He saw his murdered brother in a vision, dressed in white, telling him that he is about to leave this world. He then asked him to take care of his mother and grandmother, as they would soon receive the worst possible news. Just before waking up from this strange and bizarre dream, his brother told him where he had hidden all of his valuables. As he was about to depart, he said that during the Shiva he would come to the house and visit – as a butterfly. It was at this point that Guy woke up…

Still in a state of shock and confusion, he asked one of his traveling companions to turn on the radio. The driver soon obliged, and about a minute later, the broadcast was interrupted for a “special bulletin.” A newscaster broke in with a report of a terrorist attack on a bus near the Klal Building in Yerushalayim – —

When he heard this, he immediately connected it with the dream he just had, and he felt in his heart that his brother had been killed in the attack. He quickly called his mother, but she asked him to phone her later. The police had just called, and she was on her way to the hospital. Something terrible had apparently happened to Ro’i.

Within a short period of time, the tragic news was confirmed and the trip up north was abruptly halted. Guy returned to Yerushalayim and joined the family in mourning for his brother. During the Shiva, he noticed a strange and peculiar visitor, a butterfly, flying through the house… The butterfly had come in at the start of the Shiva and it stayed there until the last day. Then, it suddenly disappeared.

THE POWER OF HASHGACHA PRATIS

“I told the whole story to this young man, who didn’t believe in the Hand of Divine Providence, adding how even in very difficult situations, such as terrorist attacks and accidents, there is a Higher Power that directs everything.

“When I finished speaking, I expected him to say something in response. However, my words had left him absolutely speechless, and his face looked as white as chalk. After a few moments, he tried to speak, and he finally managed to do so only with great difficulty. It seemed as if my story had moved something deep within him, but I didn’t understand how or why.

“‘Do you feel all right?’ I asked him. ‘Is everything okay?’ The passenger, who later identified himself as Yoav Shapira, could only utter one sentence: ‘I’m in shock.’ When he had calmed down a little, his eyes began to fill with tears. He told me that the murdered young man, Ro’i, had been his best friend. This was the friend to whom he was referring earlier when he said that one of his friends had been killed in a terrorist attack, and for that reason, he simply could not believe in the Hand of Divine Providence…

“It took him quite some time before he could calm down completely, and then the conversation really began to flow.

“What are the chances that we would meet together in the same taxi, with a driver who didn’t want to take me? Then, in the wee hours of the morning, he asks me to give over a D’var Torah, and of all things I chose the subject of Divine Providence. While there were many things I could have discussed with far greater relevance at that time, nevertheless, this was what I decided to talk about. For his part, my fellow passenger said that he didn’t believe in Divine Providence because his best friend had been murdered by terrorists. I then felt the need to tell him a story that would refute this line of thinking. This wasn’t a story from the days of the Tanaim and Amoraim, nor even from the time of the Baal Shem Tov. This was a story that took place in Yerushalayim, and the central figure in the story was none other than his best friend!”

•    •    •

Rabbi Yehoshua Appel said that this young man was positively overcome. He too had heard the part about the butterfly, but no more than that. Now, he was astounded to hear the whole story from start to finish, bringing him back to those heartrending days.

“He spent the rest of the journey to Yerushalayim listening to more and more concepts in Judaism. It seems that the tremendous demonstration of Divine Providence had led him to believe… in Divine Providence.

“We’ve been in constant touch with one another ever since. He asks questions, I try to provide the answers, and it appears that a ray of light has opened the path of Torah and mitzvos for him to follow.”