קִצּוּר בִּאוּר אוֹפֶן הד': ב, בְּכָל דְּרָכֶיךָ דָּעֵהוּ, הָאָדָם הַשָּׂם לִבּוֹ וְדַעְתּוֹ עַל כָּל הַנַּעֲשֶׂה עִמּוֹ וּמִסָּבִיב לוֹ, רוֹאֶה הוּא אֱלֹקוּת בְּמוּחָשׁ, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר אַדְמוּ"ר הָאֶמְצָעִי בְּיִתְרוֹן הַבַּעֲלֵי עֲסָקִים עַל הַיּוֹשְׁבֵי אֹהֶל בְּעִנְיַן רְאִיַּת אֱלֹקוּת בְּמוּחָשׁ. עֲבוֹדַת הַתְּשׁוּבָה הַבָּאָה מִרְאִיַת הַשְׁגָחָה פְּרָטִית.

An explanation [by the Rebbe Rashab] of the fourth approach, abridged: “Know Him in all your ways.”

A person who sets his heart and mind on everything that happens to him and around him actually perceives G‑dliness. As the Mitteler Rebbe said, businessmen have an advantage over Torah scholars, for businessmen actually perceive G‑dliness.

This is the kind of teshuvah that comes from seeing Divine Providence.

A Story with an Echo

The Baal Shem Tov once taught his disciples the meaning of hashgachah peratis by pointing to a leaf blowing in the wind and asking one of them to follow it to its destination. The student chased after the leaf and watched it land at the base of a big tree, where he observed that a little worm had started nibbling at its edge. G‑d had destined it as nourishment for this worm.1

Fast-forward to the present.

A shluchah in Montreal was having a difficult pregnancy, and required an extended hospitalization. Needless to say, her husband visited her often. He was also in the midst of organizing a Tu BiShvat event and needed a thousand dollars. However, due to the stress caused by his wife’s condition and the time it demanded of him, he found himself unable to raise the funds.

While sitting at her bedside one day, he received a call from a non-observant Sephardic family whom he knew. They were sitting shivah, and had invited a different rabbi to speak at their home every day. They now wanted to know if the shaliach would come. At first he wanted to decline. His wife’s condition had sapped him of strength, and he did not feel capable of consoling others. Nevertheless, reminding himself that his shlichus shouldtake precedence over his personal feelings, he visited the family, and encouraged them to persevere in the face of adversity. As he was walking out, one of the sons of the family approached him and said, “Your father knew my father in Morocco. Here is a gift of one thousand dollars to help you along with your work!”

The story has repeated itself countless times across the world: a shaliach receives a donation just when he needs it most, from an unexpected source. Now, all of these shluchim learned about hashgachah peratis when they were yeshivah students.But when the check providentially reached their hands, they understood the concept far more concretely than when they studied it in a book. This is what is meant by actually seeing G‑dliness “in all your ways” — in your everyday life.