The Story Is Not Over Yet

The Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 428:8) brings a halachah in the name of the Tzror HaMor regarding Parashat Masei. He rules that when we read about the forty-two journeys the Jewish people traveled in the Wilderness, we are not allowed to stop in the middle, because they correspond to the forty-two-letter Name of Hashem, which cannot be separated. The verse (Bamidbar 9:20) says: “According to the word of Hashem would they encamp and according to the word of Hashem would they journey.” Throughout their forty years in the Wilderness, every move the Jewish people made was according to the will of Hashem. They did not always understand His plan, but it was all part of a larger picture that needed to be completed before it was understood.

The Baal Shem Tov (cited by Degel Machanch Ephraim, Masei) taught that these journeys also represent the life journey of each and every one of us. Hashem moves us to different places, He puts us in different situations, and we often do not understand. But we cannot stop in the middle. There is a plan; it is all calculated. When the picture is completed, everything will be understood.

The story is told of a Jew in Russia whose two horses ran away. People came to comfort him for his monetary loss. He told them not to worry. “The story is not over yet,” he said.

The next day, the horses came back, along with a third wild horse. His neighbors again came, this time to rejoice with him that he made a profit. Again he told them, “The story is not over yet.”

The following day the man’s son rode the wild horse. It threw him off, and the boy broke both of his legs. The people came to console the man. “The story is not over yet,” he responded.

The next day, Russian government representatives arrived, searching for young boys to take into the Russian army. When they saw the boy with the broken legs, they said they did not want him, and he was saved from the draft.

“Now the story is over,” said the man.

But the truth is, the story is still not over. Everything that happens in a person’s life is somehow connected. At the end, Hashem will explain the entire story with every detail, and we will see how kind and loving Hashem was.

As we make our way through this journey called life, we need to remind ourselves of this concept: “The story is not over yet.” We cannot stop now; a beautiful picture is in the process of being made.

A Rabbi told me that last year his niece - we’ll call her Leah - applied to a certain seminary in Israel. To her dismay, every one of her friends was accepted but she was not. It made no sense. She was a great girl with beautiful middot. Her academic standing was excellent. Her parents came from prestigious families that are pillars of their communities and do a lot for Klal Yisrael.

Leah’s grandfathers tried to use their connections and influence to have her accepted, but to no avail. Nobody could understand it. With no other choice, Leah attended a different seminary. She did very well there and made many new friends.

One friend in particular, her roommate, was so impressed with her that she suggested Leah as a shidduch for her relative. Baruch Hashem, the shidduch was successful.

Hashem had moved her to the place she needed to be, to meet the people she needed to meet. The journey was a little bumpy, but it was all from Hashem.

No power or influence can ever alter Hashem’s plan. We must trust our Creator and realize that during the difficult times, the story is not over yet. Hashem has a letter of His Name on every part of our lives, creating something beautiful, and we will thank Hashem for everything He ever did.

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Adapted from Living Emunah on the Parsha by Rabbi David Ashear (Artscroll).