Community Magazine February 2019

22 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Contact David Heskiel Vice President Dheskiel@gafinsurance.com | 646-907-8474 HOME • AUTO BUSINESS • REAL ESTATE ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH FOR INSURANCE? Call us for a free quote. @davidheskiel finally began to calm down and relax. All of a sudden, the horse tripped on a pebble and the whole carriage overturned, tossing both the Rabbi and student into the snowbank at the side of the road. The rabbi emerged and chuckled to himself. “Why are you laughing?” asked his puzzled disciple. The Rabbi explained, “I knew it… Before, on the dangerous precipice, once you said ‘S hema Yisrael ,’ I knew Gd would protect us, because we put our faith in Him. But here, on the smooth road, you relaxed, feeling inside, w hat do we need Him for on this simple path? Now I’m safe. I don’t need Gd; I have the driver. V’nahafoch hu - on the contrary . Gd says, OK. Let’s see how you make out without Me , and we ended up in the snow.” There is a fascinating statistic: Most car accidents happen locally, on quiet side streets, not on highways. Besides the reason given by the AAA, I’ll tell you the real reason. On the highway, going 80 MPH on a six-lane expressway, a person is aware that he needs Heavenly assistance; he turns to Hashem and says Tefilat Haderech. But driving near the safety of home, the driver feels he can manage by himself. Again, he needs to be reminded of the divine lesson: “You think you don’t need Me, please learn how far you can get without Me.” Think about it. If I would tell you I’m going to China tomorrow, you’d probably send me off with prayers and blessing. “ Hacham, may Hashem be with you and protect you. Have a safe journey, etc.” However, if I tell you I’m going to the mini market two blocks down the street, you’d look at me and say, “Go ahead.” Thus, is it surprising that most accidents happen in common situations near home? What Purim Comes to Teach Us In the Purim story, Haman made a lottery to determine which month he could commit his genocide against the Jews. It came out on Adar , and he was thrilled, because he also followed his horoscope. He reasoned, Adar is Mazal Dagim, Pisces the fish; that’s when the big fish swallows the small fish. I’m the big fish and the Jews are the small fish. I will certainly be successful in overcoming them. He may have read his horoscope in the New York Post , but he certainly did not read this shiur . All he knew was that he had the king ’s signet ring, immense wealth, and a royal proclamation condemning the Jews. He made the mistake of the big fish, thinking his power and strength will enable him to swallow the little fish from behind. V’nahafoch hu - on the contrary, Gd said, not only won’t it work; it’s going to backfire. Whatever Haman tried to do to the Jewish people, ended up happening to him. He tried to hang Mordechai, and he and his ten sons ended up hanging from the same tree. לעילוי נשמתם של משה בן עליזה, יצחק הלל בן עליזה, והנרייט לאה בת עליזה, דוד בן גילה, רבקה בת גילה, יהושע בן גילה, משה בן גילה, שרה בת גילה, יעקב בן גילה, ואליאנה בת גילה. ולרפואה שלמה ליוסף בן אהובה מסעודה, שילת אהובה בת עליזה, ודניאל בן עליזה.