Welcome to the daily Chizuk (strengthening). The Pasuk (verse) in Tehillim says, “Hashem is my shepherd; I will not lack.” Rav Chaim Volozhiner explains this Mizmor (psalm) as follows: If you observe sheep, sometimes they feel that they would love to run and go farther to another field. The shepherd comes with his stick and doesn’t allow them to go. The sheep think, “That’s not very nice of him. I would love to run over the hills, and he’s holding me back.” But what is the shepherd, who’s taking care of the sheep and only wants to help, thinking? The shepherd knows that where they are now, there’s a lot of grass. Over the hills, where the sheep want to run, there’s nothing growing. It’ll take two hours for the sheep to get there, and they’ll be so hungry, but they’ll have nothing to eat. The shepherd knows something that they don’t. He knows what’s best for them. And that’s what it means: Hashem makes me stay here because He knows that here is the deshe, here is the meadows.
Sometimes it’s the opposite. The sheep are tired and lying down, and the shepherd pushes them on. Again, the sheep say, “Why is he being so mean? Just give us a break.” But the shepherd knows that in two hours from now, the sheep will be very thirsty, and here there’s no water. It’s much better for the sheep to go to another place where they’ll be watered before they get thirsty. And that’s what it means that Hashem leads me to tranquil waters. Hashem is always interested in helping me. Therefore, David HaMelech said, “Even when I go to a valley that looks as dark as death, I don’t get scared because I know that you’re with me.”
A big businessman recently told me that he once had an account with a very large chain store. The store had nine possible spots on its shelves for his product, and his company had six of the nine spots. One day, they hired a new buyer, and the man met with the buyer to see what he would order for the upcoming season. The buyer told him he didn’t want to order anything. The man was stunned. He said, “We’ve been doing business for years. We sell you six out of the nine spots, and the product always sells. What’s the problem?” The order was usually about three million dollars. And he said, “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. And now you’re taking nothing?” The man called a meeting with the buyer’s superior. He took him out for dinner and explained the situation. He said, “Maybe the new buyer doesn’t know.” The superior called them back a couple of days later and said, “I don’t want to second-guess the buyer, and we’re going to stick with our decision.” Again, the man couldn’t believe it. He called the president of the company for a meeting, and again he pleaded his case, but to no avail. The president denied him as well. The man turned to Hashem and said, “I don’t understand. I’m going from a $3 million customer to nothing?”
A few months later, the news broke out. The company, whose name was Caldor, declared bankruptcy. They couldn’t pay off any of their suppliers. The man turned to Hashem and said, “Now I understand.” Hashem, in His kindness, was saving him from a $3 million loss. Even when the times look bleak, we should never fear because Hashem is always with us. Have a great day.