On one of JWCATLANTA’s trips to Israel I was witness to a “coincidence”. 

One of the participants had arrived a few days early and was extremely disappointed that her suitcase had gotten lost in transit. The airline assured her it would not be long until she would be reunited with her belongings. Our participant was fortunately traveling with a generous group of friends who made sure to provide her with whatever was needed until the errant suitcase would arrive. When I met up with this group they had already been in Israel for four days and still - no suitcase. 

By now the novelty of enjoying everyone else’s stuff had totally worn off and the woman in question was quite ready to be reunited with her own. Strangely enough though, 

the suitcase had completely gone off the grid. The airline’s data base indicated the suitcase had reached its destination and could offer no explanation. 

After I heard this tale of woe in Ben Gurion airport, just as we were about to load our bus and begin our trip, my new friend implored me to use the phone in the arrivals hall and call the airline one more time, perhaps a miracle had occurred and somehow the suitcase was found. I  picked up the phone and  was promptly put on an interminable hold, my friend hovering anxiously nearby. Finally a representative answered and I began the  tale in my best Hebrew, focusing intently because I may be Israeli, but my spoken Hebrew is a little rusty. All of a sudden I notice my friend, frantically waving at me, trying to catch my attention. I ask the patient and helpful representative to wait (ok, I am being a little cynical). My friend points to a cute, quite elderly couple, dragging a large suitcase between them. 

She says to me - that’s my bag, I am sure of it. 

I hang up on the attentive rep from the airline and go over to the couple and ask them about the bag. They begin to tell me in very excited tones with many dramatic hand motions, that they recently returned from a trip abroad and had, by accident, taken the wrong bag from the airport. As they lived in the North of the country, this was their first opportunity in four days to try to return the bag, but they didn’t know what to do. It was an amazing moment when I was able to explain to this couple that the rightful owner was standing right before them, eternally grateful to accept the bag. 

A coincidence right?

Consider that after a four day interval, this couple and my friend were standing at the same nexus point at exactly the same time. If I hadn’t been on hold for so long, we would have left. They never would have met and the bag would have ended up in the the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama.  

It’s something we call an HP moment ie Higher power or Hashgacha Pratit, a Divine  and personal intervention moment. 

Doris Lessing once said coincidences are Gd’s way of remaining anonymous. 

Or, perhaps it can be thought of Gd tapping us on the shoulder. 

This weeks’s Torah portion is Bo, and it contains the last 3 of the 10 plagues culminating in the Exodus from Egypt. 

The miracles that take place are grandiose and change the course of nature. 

What is a miracle?

According to Merriam  Webster dictionary a miracle is

“An extraordinary occurrence that surpasses all known human powers and natural forces, and is ascribed to a Divine cause, especially to Gd”

Our Sages teach us that the Almighty uses open miracles to teach us something. 

In the words of Nachmanides, 12th century Torah commentary

“Through recalling the great revealed miracles, a person acknowledges the hidden miracles of every day life. For a person must believe that all of our affairs and experiences are miracles, there is no element of ordinary in life at all”. (Paraphrase)

Going through life with such a perspective sheds so much light. 

Don’t we take eating for granted? Often we eat mindlessly, without thinking of the sophisticated system in our bodies which ensures we receive nutrition while expelling what is superfluous. 

Is that a miracle?

“It’s a magnificent process, one we rarely stop to think about unless we have a problem. Its wonder is lost on us...” Rabbi Y. Freundlich

This month is the Hebrew month of Shevat. It’s the time we celebrate the birthday of the trees on Tu bShvat, the 15th day of Shvat. 

If you look at the trees right now, it doesn’t seem to be the right time to celebrate their birth. They are barren and lifeless. But in the middle of this month on the 15th , in the middle of the winter, the sap deep inside the tree begins to flow. The first step of blooming begins. 

In the winter the tree appears dead, but in truth it is absorbing nutrients and in a hidden way, it’s beginning the process of growth.

This is the hidden miracle, the “normal” process which is taking place which will result in the bursting forth of the fruits and blossoms. 

It’s a process we take for granted. 

But isnt it a miracle?

A story is told of a man who radiated inner peace and joy. When asked if he was perhaps a holy person he answered that he was not. 

He was simply awake. 

He seemed holy because he was able to see the miraculous in the mundane and that elevated his personal existence. 

As we traverse the journey of life, the losses and frustrations may become lessened if we can focus on our own everyday miracles. 

Coincidence? I think not!

Shabbat Shalom and so much love!