And Jethro Said, “Blessed be Hashem…” (Shemos 18:10)

We often find ourselves in the midst of totally unexpected events. In fact, just the other day I was driving towards a particular intersection where normally I would have to wait at a red light. Yet quite surprisingly, this time the light was green. As I drove through, I mentioned to one of my children, “I hope I didn’t use up all of my merits for this miracle to happen.”

Obviously, I was only joking, and clearly I understood that there was Divine Providence involved, and Hashem arranged it so that I could reach my destination more quickly than I originally expected. Praising Hashem for these types of events possibly corresponds with the idea of saying “Shira”.

Yisro made his way to the Jews in the desert and he praised Hashem by saying, “Baruch…” The Gemora in Sanhedrin (94a) says that it was a disgrace that Klal Yisrael had never said “Baruch…” until Yisro did. Rav Nosson Wachtfogel Z”L, the Mashgiach of Lakewood, asked, “What do you mean? Klal Yisrael said ‘Shira’ on the sea! Isn’t that just as good as saying ‘Baruch’?” He answered his own question in a fascinating way. Miracles are miracles, and they are beyond our understanding. When they happen, we may be humbled, and sometimes even brought to our senses. But does the miracle actually obligate us or not? He quotes a gemora in Brochos that says before a person partakes of food, he uses the word “baruch” when asking permission from Hashem to allow him to partake. It is not enough that he recognizes that the food was grown by the grace of Hashem. He must praise Hashem and ask permission, and only then partake of the food.

Yisro was so moved by the happenings at the Yam Suf that he realized that it demanded that he come to a new level of closeness to Hashem. He therefore travelled all those miles to get that closeness.

There are times when things happen to us, and we even recognize the Divine Providence, but do we respond by showing an added closeness to Hashem? Let us go back to the “traffic light” example, in which the light was miraculously green. Was my next tefillah said with more intent because of Hashem’s Divine Providence?

I heard a joke this week that I think has a message which is important for us to think about at this time. A man walks into a pharmacy to buy his antigen test, and he asks the man behind the counter, “Could you give me three positive and two negative tests?” The person who told me this joke was obviously expressing his frustration at the perceived chaos in which he lives. When one takes an antigen test, it is not a question of flipping a coin. It is to be interpreted as an act of hishtadlus. We are supposed to be calmed down by knowing that we did what we were supposed to do. Whether or not the answer is “correct” is not related to whether it was the right thing to do or not. Just as, for instance, a person who needed to support his family and he opened a store, but not one customer came the entire day! He definitely did his hishtadlus, but that doesn’t mean that he was successful in bringing home a paycheck (maybe he should check out why people didn’t show up?).

In these trying times people look for a bedrock of stability. If we do what we are supposed to do, though we are never guaranteed success, we are guaranteed that we did the “correct” thing. Hysteria sets in when we think we do not know what to do. We must check and evaluate our situations and ask the questions to those who have the ability to direct us on the correct course of action. Still, regardless of our actions, and regardless of whether we are doing something holy or mundane, the results of all our efforts are controlled by Hashem.

And just as before we benefit from olam hazeh, we make a brocho, so too, before we embark on an endeavor, we should plead to Hashem for success.

May we merit to live in a time of tranquility where the brocho is apparent, and not just to serve Hashem from afar, but do as Yisro did: Move closer to the places of holiness to absorb more brocho.