{"id":1090567,"date":"2020-03-23T00:41:01","date_gmt":"2020-03-22T21:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/%d7%9c%d7%9c%d7%90-%d7%a7%d7%98%d7%92%d7%95%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%94\/a-few-steps-ahead\/"},"modified":"2024-11-26T12:47:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T09:47:11","slug":"a-few-steps-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/1090567\/","title":{"rendered":"A Few Steps Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

After reading <\/span><\/span>Rabbi Arush on Coronavirus, Part 1<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>, I<\/span><\/span> realized that I have had such  <\/span><\/span>hashgacha<\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/span>pratit<\/span><\/span>  (Divine Providence) in my life since the coronavirus made its debut<\/span><\/span> on the world scene.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Hashem was preparing me for these times for several years<\/span><\/span> already<\/span><\/span>. The upheaval I went through (see What’s an Old Lady Doing Here?<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span>) <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>l<\/span><\/span>most<\/span><\/span> two years ago shook me to the core. Still, I relied <\/span><\/span>on my <\/span><\/span>emuna<\/span><\/span> that everything would work out for the best – and it did! <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The job that I got was a dream job. The company was showing strong growth, so much so that investors were willing to put in a generous amount of money. After a little more than a year on the job, the Coronavirus hit the world economy. All investment monies were frozen, leaving my company’s CEO no choice but to do a massive layoff<\/span><\/span>, leaving only a skeleton staff to keep the company running<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Letters would be issued to each employee\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in order\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to receive unemployment benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>However, since\u00a0<\/span><\/span>I was at the legal retirement age, I was not eligible for those benefits and would be forced to retire<\/span><\/span>\u00a0permanently<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Immediately after the CEO’s bombshell announcement, I spoke with a team member briefly about the layoff. He offhandedly commented, “I’ll continue to work even if they do lay me off. I need to keep my skills sharp for when this crisis is over<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>Hashem clearly put that idea into his brain because <\/span><\/span>I<\/span><\/span> needed to hear it<\/span><\/span> \u2013 as it turns out, <\/span><\/span>that man was not <\/span><\/span>fired, but I was<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

About an hour later, my manager met with me and told me that I would be laid off. With the above idea already planted in my brain, I broached my <\/span><\/span>wild idea <\/span><\/span>to continue working<\/span><\/span> without pay to my manager<\/span><\/span>. My manager was enthusiastic<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> but said that I absolutely cannot work for free. She would approach the CEO with my idea but ask for reduced hours and at minimum wage. <\/span><\/span>Hashem put that idea into her brain<\/span><\/span> because I wouldn\u2019t have asked for a cent, much less minimum wage<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>The CEO AGREED <\/span><\/span>– <\/span><\/span>I was floored<\/span><\/span>!<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Ironically, I lost my previous job because of age, but age saved my current<\/span><\/span>, much better<\/span><\/span>\u00a0job.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Only Hashem could fine-tune circumstances to always be for my benefit!\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Hashem’s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Divine\u00a0<\/span><\/span>providence didn’t stop with income. He even took care of my transportation needs! Normally, I buy a monthly bus card that I can use anywhere in Jerusalem.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>It\u2019s expensive, but t<\/span><\/span>here is no limit to the number of rides during the month. A month ago, my magnetic bus card needed to be replaced, so in the interim, I bought 60 shekels of bus fares. Since I’m now working from home, there’s no need for a monthly bus\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pass\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and I already have quite a few bus fares\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pre<\/span><\/span>paid.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

And there’s more! The day before Shushan Purim, I decided to do my quarterly grocery shopping<\/span><\/span>\u00a0when\u00a0<\/span><\/span>I stock up on EVERYTHING.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>A few days later,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the government start<\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span> shutting down industries that put considerable stress on the national supply chain. Grocery shelves emptied, and f<\/span><\/span>ood items were more difficult to find.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

And there\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>even more! My washing machine had a NDE about two weeks before and was deemed irreparable. I bought a new one <\/span><\/span>on super sale since not many people are making big purchases. I<\/span><\/span>t was delivered the last working day before severe emergency regulations limiting movement went into effect.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

At the time, the washing machine, the quarterly grocery shopping,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a conversation with a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>colleague<\/span><\/span>\u00a0at work,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and the bus ticket<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> seemed to be “normal” <\/span><\/span>events. In retrospect, Hashem was always a few steps ahead of me.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Emuna<\/span><\/span> now is much more precious than just a month ago when everything was running smoothly and successfully. <\/span><\/span>My loving Father is saying to me, “Don’t worry, <\/span><\/span>Tamar’ke<\/span><\/span>, right now I have some <\/span><\/span>big things<\/span><\/span> to do in the world, but I’m still taking care of you. You’re going to be fine.”<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

May we all merit the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>geulah<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>b\u2019rachamim<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(<\/span><\/span>the Redemption with mercy<\/span><\/span>)!<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After reading Rabbi Arush on Coronavirus, Part 1, I realized that I have had such  hashgacha  pratit  (Divine Providence) in my life since the coronavirus made its debut on the world scene.    Hashem was preparing me for these times for several years already. The upheaval I went through (see What’s an Old Lady Doing Here?) almost two years ago … Continue reading “A Few Steps Ahead”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62109,"featured_media":4878857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[88126,83790],"tags":[87741,20992,16369,21293],"author_post":[15741],"new_serie":[],"class_list":["post-1090567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aging-and-retirement","category-emuna-stories-inspirational-stories","tag-aging","tag-divine-providence","tag-emuna","tag-salvation","author_post-tamar-becker"],"acf":{"intro_text":"

Hashem is indeed looking out for us during these times of uncertainty and upheaval. Read the true story of how a retiree managed during a severe national downturn...<\/p>\n","special_content_in_the_post":"none","meta_title":"God was Always a Few Steps Ahead","meta_description":"describes the tremendous confidence we can have that Hashem is looking out for us during these times of upheaval. The letter speaks for itself...","paragraph_first":"Since I was at the legal retirement age, I was not eligible for those benefits and would be forced to retire permanently. ","paragraph_second":"At the time, the washing machine, the quarterly grocery shopping,\u00a0a conversation with a\u00a0colleague\u00a0at work,\u00a0and the bus tickets seemed to be \"normal\" events.","youtube":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090567"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4878875,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090567\/revisions\/4878875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4878857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090567"},{"taxonomy":"author_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author_post?post=1090567"},{"taxonomy":"new_serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_serie?post=1090567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}