Land of Emuna
The eyes of Hashem are on the Land of Israel constantly, which means that Israel enjoys a special status of Divine Providence. No wonder it’s the Land of Emuna…
One of the biggest benefits of living in the holy Land of Israel is the deep and personal connection with Hashem that you can only have here in this land. When I wake up in the morning or walk around Jerusalem wondering “what am I doing here? Did I really move here? This isn’t just a very long vacation?” – I think about this, and I know why I am here. And when the Yetzer (evil inclination) has me missing the creature comforts of America – my favorite foods, my favorite restaurants, an NBA game – I think about this, and I know why I am here.
In America, I worked so hard to feel that Hashem was personally with me at every moment. Most of the time, I felt like I was at the bottom of the ocean, and there was just so much separating me from Hashem. Sometimes, here and there, I would get a little glimpse, a little light, and little something – just enough to keep me going. In the meantime, I struggled to maintain my “emuna mind” – my self- composure and connection to Hashem.
Here in Israel, it is the exact opposite. I call out to Hashem, and I feel Him close to me – at my right side and in my heart – in a way that I could never attempt to put into words. The mental composure I fought so hard for in America and caught only glimpses of here and there is so powerful and ingrained now, that I have to be really, really roiled up and work really, really hard to lose it. The peace, serenity and deep, true joy that was so elusive in America is second nature here.
Another very tangible aspect of the deep connection that you can only have with Hashem here in Israel is the tremendous hashgachah pratit – guiding hand of Hashem. The Torah says that the eyes of Hashem (if you will metaphorically) are on the Land of Israel from the beginning of the year until the end, and you can tell! It seems that you just think about someone – doesn’t matter how long it has been since you have seen them or how remote the possibility of them being in Israel is – and they seem to just appear. “Random” “coincidences” with far reaching consequences are commonplace. People just get used to it, because you certainly can’t ignore it!
Let me give you one great example.
About a month ago, I was waiting for an emergency package from America. I finally got the slip for the package (that’s a story in and of itself). However, I had an important meeting in a suburb of Jerusalem already planned for the next morning (the post offices here have crazy hours and it had long closed by the time I got the slip in the evening). I wasn’t sure whether I should go to the meeting first, and then not know when I would be able to pick up the package since it was already Erev Shabbat, or if I should risk going to the post office first and then missing the appointment.
I decided that I would go to the bus stop, and whichever bus came first – the one for the appointment, or for the post office – I would do that first. As it turns out, the bus to the appointment pulled away right in front of me, and the bus to the post office came one minute later – so off to the post office I went.
I arrived and took a number, only to discover that I had no less than 45 people in front of me. Even with the 6 people manning stations, that would take forever…I didn’t know what to do. Hashem had brought me here, but now I was certainly going to be very, very late to the appointment.
I took a deep breath and starting talking to Hashem, asking Him to help me since now I was here already and I need the line to go quickly! Then I took out my Tikkun Klali and starting saying Tehillim.
I was almost done and I looked up to discover only 8 people had gone in that time. I thought to myself: This is going WAY too slow! Hashem, why aren’t you speeding up the line for me? What am I going to do?
I went back to the last psalm and as I was finishing it, a ticket was dropped in my lap. It took me a minute to realize that with this ticket, I was now only third in line!!! The man was already out the door before I could even think of trying to catch him to say thank you. At that moment, my phone rang – it was the appointment, asking where I was. I was very happy to tell them I would be on time, and my number was called as I got off the phone. I got my package and then walked right onto the bus to my appointment.
As I sat on the bus, I thought about how present Hashem is here in Israel. Even more, I had limited Hashem’s power to speeding up the line – but hey, He can just move you forward in it! He can do whatever He wants, and here in Israel, that isn’t just small talk – it’s reality, this really is the Land of Emuna.
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