There was once a teenage boy called Isaac, who was the youngest son of a wealthy man. Isaac’s father cared very much for his son; he indulged his every whim and allowed him to go on all sorts of exotic holidays. But still, being the rebellious child he was, Isaac wasn’t really interested in building any sort of relationship with his father.
At the age of 21, Isaac had finally had enough of relying on his father and being indebted to him for everything. He decided he wanted to make it big all on his own. He told his father his plans, and one morning, with merely the clothes on his back, he set off to a far-off town. He began looking for a job, going from job-centre to job-centre. However, after a tiring day with no success of finding any sort of employment, Isaac had no choice but to head to the local park bench where he would sleep that night. He had never previously dreamt that he would ever be forced to have to do such a demeaning thing.
The next morning, Isaac restarted his job search. But yet again, evening arrived with no more than the day before. Isaac now started to have feelings of regret, but his burning desire to prove that he could succeed on his own, pushed him to sleep a second night on the park bench. When he awoke the following morning, there was a gentleman taking his dog for a walk through the park. The dog owner approached Isaac and enquired as to why he was sleeping in the park. Isaac explained that he had no money and he was unable to find a job. The man immediately sparked up with an idea. “If you walk my dog for half an hour a day, I will provide you with three meals a day, as well as a bed to sleep in”. Isaac graciously accepted the generous offer.
After a good sleep on a comfortable bed, Isaac once again set out to find a job. After following up on a few leads, he finally managed to find a job in a local bakery, where he received a generous salary for the few tasks he was assigned to do. He began to save part of his income, and a year later, he was able to rent his own apartment. Isaac continued to save, until before long he was able to open his own bakery. However, his minimal savings just enabled him to afford a small back-street shop, in a rather unpopulated area. How Isaac wished he would be able to sell his bakery goods on a busy main street!
One day, a customer said, “You know, your cakes and pastries are delicious. If you would be on the main street, you would become extremely popular!” Isaac sighed and explained how he simply couldn’t afford such a thing. But the man responded, “I believe in your products. Let’s come to a partnership arrangement, and I’ll pay for the new store”. Isaac was elated. Before long, Isaac’s new store attracted streams of customers who sought to buy his popular baked goods.
Only three years after leaving home, the successful businessman, decided it was time to send his father a letter:
“My dear father. I wanted to tell you that after three years of being away from you, I’ve made my own fortune without any help from you. You are welcome to come and see my bakery whenever you want. It just goes to show that hard work and perseverance are the keys to success. You don’t need a rich father to succeed.”
A few days later Isaac received his father’s written response:
“My precious son. I am very happy to hear that you are doing well. But for your ultimate benefit, it is my obligation to tell you what really happened. Did you ever wonder why a total stranger would let you stay in his house for just walking his dog for half an hour? I sent that man to you to get you off the streets, and I paid your rent there the whole year. Did you ever wonder why you were given such a high salary in the bakery for the simple tasks you were doing? I got you your job, and I paid your salary. Also, the man who walked into the store and offered out of the blue to be your partner? I sent him there, and he was using my money. When you were in your new location, I paid customers to patronize your store to make you successful. You see, son, it was not your hard work that earned you the money; it was your loving father, who will always be there for you.”
This incredibly powerful parable reminds us of a common mistake we may make. Throughout life we are setting ourselves goals. These may be short-term day-to-day goals or long term goals; like building a successful business. When we finally do succeed, we are likely to hold our heads up high and brag (to ourselves or to others) of our hard work and perseverance which brought us to being successful. However, Hashem, our Father in heaven, would remind us that although hard work is indeed important, we mustn’t forget some other crucial factors. Who do you think gave you all the ideas? Who do you think gave you your strength and your health to persevere and continue the way you did? Who do you think ensured that everything fell into place all in the right time? And of course we know that the answer is, it was our loving Farther above who always wants the very best for us.
Perhaps we can stretch this idea slightly. There’s a famous question asked on the Meggillah which we read on Purim. If one analyses the story properly, we can notice that the Jewish nation’s eventual salvation came about through many seemingly random events. If so, why is G-d’s name not mentioned once throughout the Megilah? Surely it’s important for us to know that these so-called ‘random events’ were really being orchestrated by Hashem in order to save us from Haman’s evil decree?
The answer is that Hashem wanted to teach us a very important lesson. Throughout the Jewish exile, although G-d is always with us, G-d’s hand is not clearly seen. Every world event is part of Hashem’s plan. Every tragedy that occurs and every mad politician who comes to power, is all part of what Hashem wants to happen. We may not understand why this should be, but this is the true divine plan.
By G-d’s name not being mentioned in the Megilah, we learn that just as Hashem is not clearly seen, yet still we can appreciate that the random events lead to one ultimate purpose, so too throughout our exile everything which happens is a part of Hashem’s plan.
The common lesson we learn from the story of Isaac and from the Megilah is that everything which happens on this world is ordained by Hashem for our ultimate benefit.
Good Shabbos, Happy Purim,
Shragi