Parshas Beha’aloscha: Digging a Riverbed

“Upon the Word of Hashem Bnei Yisrael traveled; and upon the Word of Hashem they camped” (Bamidbar 9:18)

“For every action and movement that man wants to take he should say ‘im yirtzeh Hashem’ [if Hashem wants] or ‘b’ezras Hashem’ [with the help of Hashem].” (Shlah HaKadosh)

It’s not just in the desert that every step was taken according to the word of Hashem. Rather every action in the world is only via Hashem’s word. When man utters “b’ezras Hashem” or “im yirtzeh Hashem” he internalizes this message of dependence on Hashem and brings blessing upon himself. (Lekach Tov)

The plumber waved goodbye and I waved goodbye to three hundred dollars. At least I didn’t have to wade through my kitchen with boots anymore. However I still had to deal with a colossal mess saturated cabinets and a waterlogged mixer.

And it was only a “small leak.”

“You’re lucky this isn’t bigger ma’am” said the plumber as he packed up his tools. “It could have been a lot worse.”

This is supposed to comfort me? I wondered. Three hundred dollars seems bad enough without even counting the hours of cleanup ahead. Plus that check for the orthodontist might bounce now that I’ve paid the plumber. I’m going to need to run to the bank today as well.

I sighed. Sometimes I wished I had a lot more money. Money to hire a cleaning lady to deal with this mess. Money to cover unexpected surprises like this small leak. Money to be able to write checks to the orthodontist without balancing my whole budget first.