Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz – Perfect Timing

Operation Inspiration

By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

Perfect Timing

Did you ever notice that in a story, when the protagonist (read: good guy) is captured by the villain and about to be defeated or worse, possibly sliced by a huge sword on a pendulum or a rotating laser beam that’s inching closer and closer to him, at the last second, he is miraculously able to untie his hands and escape? It’s just as uncanny how often the bomb ticks down to 2 seconds, and as the fellow cuts the last wire, it stops at 1 second. PHEW! What a relief.

It seems strange that the matter of timing is so specific, but then, I imagine it’s a case of art imitating life. The truth is that Hashem orchestrates everything with extreme accuracy, and if you pay attention, you’ll see how often things get down to the wire. Personally, I’ve noticed it with money; how you can be wondering how you will pay that bill or your tuition or your mortgage, and at the last moment, the money somehow arrives.

For some reason, just as the bomb squad never calmly cuts the blue wire with fifteen minutes to spare, but instead they have to clear the area as the lone agent, sweating profusely, does his job, Hashem doesn’t seem to send us the infusion of cash until He’s ready to do so. And it happens all the time.

How many times do you pull into a parking lot just as another car is backing up and you grab the spot? (I hope you take the time to thank Hashem, realizing He’s been watching out for you.) To me, seeing the sublime choreography makes me feel very loved and cared for, and I hope others feel that way too. In fact, I wanted to share the following story to help you see it as I do.

My wife was sick. As she said, “What kind of adult gets strep throat?!” but alas, she did. When I came home from shul one morning, she asked me, “Do we have any juice?” I said we were out. “Can you buy some?”

“Sure.” I replied. “At some point today, or like, “this minute”?”

“Like this minute.” OK, as a dutiful husband, caring for his ill wife, I got in my car and drove around the corner to the supermarket. I went and picked up a bottle of orange juice and proceeded to the checkout lane. As I paid, a woman came in and anxiously asked the cashier, “Did I leave my phone here?” The cashier shook her head in the negative.

I took out my phone and asked the woman, “Would you like me to call it?” Her face lit up. “Oh, yes! Would you please?” She proceeded to give me her number and I dialed it. It began to ring in my ear, but we heard nothing in the store. So, she headed out to her car to see if it was there.

Grabbing my receipt and my juice, I headed outside in case I needed to call it again. As I did, I heard a phone ringing. The woman hurried over to her shopping cart (which she had returned!) and there in the top section was her cell phone. I hung up and she thanked me for my help.

I told her she should thank my wife. She looked at me quizzically. I explained that if not for the fact that my wife had needed juice “this minute,” I would not have been checking out at that lane when she came in missing her phone. She could have had an agonizing day trying to retrace her steps to find her lost phone, but Hashem, in His infinite mercy, made things work out with perfection. He orchestrated every event and circumstance with such precision that she didn’t have to suffer, and the people that were intended to help her entered the stage as if on cue.

When I pointed this out to her, she seemed awed and amazed, and I’m guessing a little more loved than she’d realized the moments before.

I wonder if sometimes Hashem doesn’t make things happen just so He can save us at the last moment. Not for dramatic effect, but simply to remind us how much He cares about us. It can be hard to realize that Hashem is involved in every moment of our lives when even we have trouble keeping things together sometimes.

Then, when something like this happens, and we actually take a moment to realize just how perfect the world is, and how everything works together in harmony like a grand symphony, it’s a thing of beauty! It’s the confluence of the horns and the cymbals, the cellos and the violins. And it’s Hashem Yisbarach Himself, Who is pulling all the strings.

© 2022 – All Rights Reserved

Did you enjoy this column? Feedback is welcome and appreciated. E-mail info@JewishSpeechWriter.com to share your thoughts. You never know when you may be the lamp that enlightens someone else.