While on a beautiful trip to Israel a month ago, my wife lost her wallet. We searched the car, overturned our apartment and called all our relatives who we had stayed by, all to no avail. Her credit cards, driver’s license and other important documents had simply vanished.
At the back of my mind, I couldn’t help the niggling thought that my wife was slightly careless. I mean, how does someone lose a wallet? Of course, I didn’t breathe a word to her, but the accusations still festered in me.
I called Amex to cancel the card and they informed me that someone had called them to report Shevy’s lost credit card, and in accordance with Amex’s policy, they immediately cancelled it. So we knew the purse had been found, but had no idea by who or where.
I got the answer this week while chatting with my sister-in-law from Israel. We were staying in Petach Tikva for Shabbat, and while packing the car after Shabbat to return to our apartment, I accidentally dropped the purse. I realized, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was me who dropped it on the street, because my wife wasn’t even with me at the time. A young secular Israeli found it, and realized it belonged to an American. The problem was, he had no idea how to locate the owner. For four weeks he kept the purse, not knowing what to do. Finally he figured he'd go back to the street where he found it and knock on the first door. Turns out that out of the hundreds of doors that he could have knocked on, the door that he did knock on was somebody who knows my brother very well. He immediately made the Vigler connection and the wallet was back in our possession.
Many times we find ourselves in similar situations-- we want to do what’s right, but have no idea where to start. All G-d requires of us in these circumstances is to take the first step—go to the street and knock on a random door, from then on, G-d’s the boss. The Midrash captures this idea in the statement, “Open a crack for Me the size of a needle, and I will open up for you a hole the size of a hall…”
This week’s parsha of Shemini relates an unusual conversation that occurred between Moshe and Aharon. For seven days Aharon had been practicing his task of sanctifying the Sanctuary as High Priest, in preparation for the actual sanctification on the eighth day, when G-d’s glory would descend unto the structure. Seeing Aharon’s hesitation when the eighth day arrived, Moshe urged him, “Approach the altar, and carry your sin-offering and your burnt-offering . . .” Aharon got cold feet when he realized that he - an individual who had sinned through his indirect involvement in the Golden Calf-- would be the trigger of the fusion of heaven and earth. Moshe reproached Aharon, reminding him that he had not chosen his role, G-d had chosen him! As such, it was Aaron’s job, uncertainty aside, to take the first step. G-d would see to the rest.
Let us take the first step to do what is right and G-d will surely take care of the rest!