The Miracles of Ha-Shem--no coincidences

A wonderful Tzadik pointed out to me once that the Hebrew word for chance, "mikreh" is exactly the same letter as "rak me Ha-Shem" (it is only from Ha-Shem!). The Torah tells us, "v'atem hadeveikim Ba-Shem E-lokeichem chayim kulchem hayom" (You who attach yourselves to Ha-Shem your G-d, you are the one's who are truly alive! The miracles that have surrounded my life and the life of my family are truly remarkable and I am quite overwhelmed by the tremendous kindnesses that He continues to bestow upon me. I want to share with you one small aspect of this kindness relative to the birth of my grandchildren. B"H, my son Yechiel Yehoshua, was blessed with the birth of a daughter 2 days ago, after two sons. Consider the following: His first born, born after waiting 4 years came after the blessings of many holy people, and a site that he frequently during those 4 years was the tomb of the great and holy Tanna, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Many people implore Rabbi Shimon to intercede on their behalf, vowing to name their sons after him, should they be so blessed. Our children, Yechiel and Rivka were not only blessed with a son, but his birth date was 6 AM, the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon, Lag Ba'omer, 2 1/2 years ago. Of course he was named Shimon. We hope to return to Israel to celebrate our Shimele's 3rd birthday and first haircut there by Rabbi Shimon. A little over a year later, our second grandson from Yechiel and Rivka was born. And when did his bris come out--exactly on Tisha B'av, the saddest day of the year, and a day which will be transformed to one of rejoicing when our righteous redeemer, the Moshiach delivers us from the chains of exile. Though it is customary to name a baby "Menachem" (comforter--a name traditionally associated with the Messiah), instead he was named after the great Tzadik who transformed our life, the Biala Rebbe, Dovid Matisyahu, of sainted memory, who was our son, Yechiel Yehoshua's sandek, and in who's house, Yechiel lived for more than half a year during a time of crisis and illness in the family.

So now, as of tomorrow, it is 11 months since my dear mother, of blessed memory, Connie Frischman passed away. I have been loyally saying Kaddish for her, morning and evening daily, constantly, daily thinking about her, learning mishnayos on her behalf, and doing mitzvos to elevate her soul. Our tradition tells us that a son says Kaddish for his parents for only 11 months, because the righteous are cleansed from the impurities of this world, and are able to enter Gan Eden, the world of eternity and paradise after that time, whereas those who are evil need a full year to complete that cleansing process. We all hope and pray that the work that we do during that year serves to accelerate that process of benefiting our parent's souls. So, as I say, I will be completing the eleven months tomorrow afternoon. Last Tuesday, we were again blessed with the most amazing of blessings, the birth of a granddaughter. As "chance" would have it, our precious granddaughter will be named this coming Shabbos--exactly the day after Mom's neshama (soul) has clearly reached Gan Eden. What will the baby's name be? Stay tuned........................!