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The Torah teaches us that nothing in life is accidental; everything is orchestrated by Hashem and there is no such thing as coincidence. Occasionally we get to see clearly why things happen that seemed purely coincidental, and it’s very refreshing and inspiring. Let me share one such incident:
As I wrote to you last week my family took a trip to Canada for my father’s 70th birthday family reunion. (What an amazing weekend it was!) In order to make the trip comfortable for us and our 8 children (k9hora) we decided we would rent a 10 passenger van with comfortable seats and a video screen to keep the little ones entertained for the long trip. However, when we began looking for such a vehicle, there wasn’t a single one to be found. We repeatedly Googled and  searched but all paths led us back to one large company who carries these vehicles, and they had nothing available for that weekend. At the last minute, the day before we were going to leave, my assistant found a company in New Jersey, A&A Discount Rental, that had one such vehicle (in their fleet of 500 vehicles) which was currently rented but would return that afternoon, just in time for our trip. In spite of the ‘shlep’ to New Jersey we decided we would take it.
When I arrived at the rental office late Thursday afternoon I was surprised to see a big mezuzah on the front door. The owners were obviously Jewish. When I offered them to put on Tefillin they were proud to say they did it every morning, but directed me to the manager, Bernie, whose mother was Jewish and who had never put on Tefillin before. Suddenly it became clear to me why we had to get the run around and end up in Edison, New Jersey for the vehicle. Bernie’s Jewish soul needed to get a chance to put on Tefillin and identify as a Jew! I explained to Bernie (who we quickly gave the Jewish name “Berel”) how significant it is the first time one puts on Tefillin. Not having a pair of tefillin with me, I promised to bring a pair upon my return from the trip and we would celebrate Bernie’s (or Berel’s) Bar Mitzvah.
 We arranged for a gorgeous cake in the shape of the van that we rented (complete with the Jersey plates and plate numbers...) and a pair of tefillin on top. You can’t imagine the joy in the rental office when I returned on Monday afternoon with the cake and Tefillin. Berel was so proud to wear the tefillin and enjoy this unusual cake! I have seldom seen a Jew so proud of being Jewish! What a Bar Mitzvah this was!
Was this a coincidence? I think not. What do you think?
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
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