The Previous Rebbe’s father once told someone in a private audience:
Ever since G‑d told our father Avraham, “Go from your land,” and the Torah then records that “Avram kept travelling southward,” we have the beginning of the mystery of birurim (refining of Divine sparks). By decree of Divine Providence, a person travels to the places where the sparks they must refine await their redemption.
Tzadikim, who have vision, see where their birurim await them and go there deliberately. For ordinary people, the Cause of all causes brings about the circumstances that lead them to the places where their work awaits them.
This idea is baked into a Chabad upbringing. Whether you’re dealing with a cancelled flight or meeting a stranger at the park, you learn to ask: “Why has Hashem brought me here? What is my role? How can I bring some godliness into this interaction?”
Until this week, though, I had never considered that “here” could also be a Zoom room.
Somewhat sheepishly, I confess that I recently received my first speeding ticket in twenty years. Hoping to keep it from affecting my insurance, I signed up for a defensive driving course: six hours, spread over two evenings, with people from all walks of life.
The material probably could have been covered in thirty minutes. But six hours it was.
Thankfully, the instructor had a good sense of humor, and what I expected to be mind-numbing turned out to be surprisingly entertaining.
At the end of the first evening, a private message popped up on Zoom: “Hey, it’s funny seeing you here. I’ve been on the Chabad email list for a long time.”
I didn’t recognize the woman who sent it. We began chatting, and I asked how she had gotten onto our list. She wasn’t sure, but she told me she had been meaning to attend an event for some time.
I mentioned Thursday night’s lecture with Rabbi Dinerman, the author of our upcoming JLI course, and told her that the course itself would begin the following week.
“I’ll be there Thursday night,” she replied.
A moment later, her registration came through.
Well, there it was. Now I knew why Hashem had brought me to defensive driving school.
Or so I thought.
On the second evening, another participant shared that he had received thirteen tickets after fleeing a traffic stop. He had originally been pulled over for using his phone while driving.
My mind went straight to judgment.
You were pulled over for using your phone, and you decided to flee? What were you thinking? How could that possibly end well?
The judge had reduced the number of tickets, and attending this class was one of the requirements he still had to fulfill.
Toward the end of the evening, we watched a video about the tragic consequences of distracted driving. During the discussion afterward, the instructor called on this fellow.
He began sharing his reflections. Then he started crying.
He spoke about the challenges he had faced in life and how those experiences had shaped the person he had become.
I knew almost nothing about those challenges. But I had already decided that I knew all I needed to know about him.
As he spoke, I began to see the person behind the story: someone with a history, struggles, feelings, and the capacity to reflect and grow.
Apparently, I still had something to learn in driving school.
I had been quick to recognize Divine Providence when I had an opportunity to invite someone to a lecture. It took me a little longer to recognize it when the work involved looking honestly at myself.
The Cause of all causes had brought me into that Zoom room for both encounters. One gave me an opportunity to help someone connect. The other gave me an opportunity to become a little less quick to judge.
The sparks awaiting us can be anywhere, even in a six-hour defensive driving class.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman
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