Reply To: Short & Sweet

Vayeishev: Peeking Through the Cracks

Rashi cites a Medrash that although Arabs usually transport foul smelling merchandise, Hashem orchestrated that the Arabs who brought Yosef into slavery had pleasant smelling spices instead.

R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz explains that this small and seemingly unhelpful miracle was a reminder that Hashem is always running the show. No matter what was happening to Yosef, Hashem was still with him.

In a similar vein, R’ Moshe Feinstein asks why the one טהור flask of oil miraculously lasted for eight days, despite the fact that טומאה הותרה בצבור. He answers that Hashem performed a small and seemingly unnecessary miracle to show us that He is always here, and He is always the true source of everything good that happens to us.

No matter how good or bad of a situation a person may find themselves in, Hashem is really the one running the show.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום