Welcome to the daily chizuk (encouragement). All day long, Hashem is bringing us yeshuot (salvation). Hashem is helping us. Hashem is giving us. We aren't able to always see how Hashem is helping. To us, it may seem the opposite. But that's only the way it seems. In truth, Hashem only helps. And we pray that Hashem allows us to feel His yeshuah. The Kedushat Levi once explained that on Rosh Hashanah, we say, we say, “We have a good and sweet year.” Why do we add sweet? Says the rabbi, “We know everything is good. We know it's going to be a good year. But our request is that we should be able to feel the sweetness.” Hashem, please show us your kindness and give us your salvation. Of course, everything Hashem does is kindness. But we want to see the kindness. Either way, we know it's a salvation you gave us. We ask Hashem: Make us happy with your salvation. We know it's a salvation. But we want to be happy with it. We want to be able to see how it's a salvation. When a person is able to see in their own life how Hashem guided them to a salvation, it strengthens their bond with Hashem so much.
It doesn't have to be anything big. Just seeing Hashem's guiding hand in our everyday lives, every time we feel Hashem's yeshuah, we become more of a ma'amin (believer). A schoolteacher told me a few weeks ago that she pulled up in front of the school just as it was starting, and there wasn't a parking spot in sight. It was freezing. It was snowing. She didn't want to be late. And she happened to be one of the only ones who had a special permit to leave her car right outside in front of the building. So she left it there and went to teach. She felt uneasy, however, about leaving the car there the whole morning. It was a little in the way. And so, in between periods, she went out to move it. She ended up sad. She was circling for 20 minutes and found a spot blocks away. She had to walk back through the slushy sidewalks, and her shoes were soaked through and through. But she was a ba'alat emunah (woman of faith) the whole time, saying, “Every bit of this inconvenience is good for me,” and she didn't get upset. She called her husband to bring her a new pair of socks and shoes, and 15 minutes later he arrived. She went outside to get them and noticed a huge accident in front of the school. Baruch Hashem, nobody was hurt, but another car was parked in the spot she had just left, and that car was totaled. She felt so much hakarat ha-tov (gratitude) to Hashem for giving her that uneasy feeling to move her car. She felt the Yad Hashem (Hashem's guiding hand) guarding her.
Another one of our listeners emailed me that Hashem blessed him this year with twin girls, and his wife, who was a medical technician, had to go back to work after just one month because they needed a dual income. She only worked two days a week, but the commute was an hour and a half each way, and she would come home exhausted and barely able to tend to the babies. A couple of months later, her manager said they needed a full-time worker now. She could either take the position, or he would have to let her go. They tried to work out a deal with the boss, but he didn't budge. It was all or nothing. Now it was almost impossible to find another part-time job in her field, so, with no other choice, she had to accept the job and somehow managed to take care of her newborns. They were in desperate need of yeshuah. The man had been working on his emunah (faith), listening to many classes. He took classes every day and was trying very hard to stay upbeat. A few days later, right before she was going to start her new job, she received a phone call from a consultant who had met her once and had no idea about her current situation, but he said there was an opening for a part-time job in a medical office and asked if she was interested. That office was just 15 minutes from her house. She went for an interview and was hired that day. A clear Yeshuat Hashem keheref ayin (Hashem's salvation in the blink of an eye). We know Hashem is always bringing us yeshuot, but we pray, “Hashem, gladden us with your salvation. Let us see how it's a salvation.” Have a great day.