עִנְיַן הַהַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית הוּא, דְּלֹא זוּ בִּלְבַד דְּכָל פְּרָטֵי תְּנוּעוֹת הַנִּבְרָאִים לְמִינֵיהֶם הֵם בְּהַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית, וְהִיא הִיא חַיּוּת הַנִּבְרָא וְקִיּוּמוֹ, אֶלָּא עוֹד זֹאת דִּתְנוּעָה פְּרָטִית שֶׁל נִבְרָא יֵשׁ לָהּ יַחַס כְּלָלִי לִכְלָלוּת כַּוָּנַת הַבְּרִיאָה... דִּבְצֵרוּף וְאִחוּד כָּל הַפְּעוּלוֹת הַפְּרָטִיוֹת... נִשְׁלְמָה כַּוָּנָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה בְּסוֹד הַבְּרִיאָה כּוּלָהּ.

וְיִתְבּוֹנֵן הָאָדָם: וּמַה אִם תְּנוּעַת עֵשֶׂב בָּאָה בְּהַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית וְנוֹגַעַת לְהַשְׁלָמַת כַּוָּנַת הַבְּרִיאָה, מִין הַמְּדַבֵּר בִּכְלָל וְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַם קְרוֹבוֹ בִּפְרָט עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.

The concept of hashgachah peratis means not only that every particular movement of the various created beings is controlled by Divine Providence, which also determines the vitality and ongoing existence of that created being; it also means that each particular movement of every being is directly related to the overall intent underlying the creation…. For through the combination and synthesis of all the particular activities…, the sublime mystical intent underlying all of creation is consummated.

A person should consider: If the movement of a blade of grass is prompted by Divine Providence and has a role to play in fulfilling the intent of creation, how much more so with regard to the human species in general, and to the Jewish people, the nation close to Him, in particular.1

Living in This World

Wherever a person finds himself by chance, he can easily think that he had a random encounter by coincidence, or just happened to hitch a particular ride.

One day in the 1970s, two fine not-yet-observant Israelis, a young man and a young woman, having completed their army service, were hiking through the Scottish Highlands. After a while they were hungry, so they hitched a ride with a passing truck. The gentile driver threw the door wide open, showed them where to put their Israeli backpacks, and they drove on together — without exchanging a word.

After a couple of hours he said, “Time to eat something,” and drew up outside a roadside eating-place. The three of them sat down together, and the driver ordered bacon and eggs.

“And what about you two?” asked the waiter.

“Same,” they said, and they all ate in silence.

Eventually they reached their destination. The two hitchhikers thanked the truckdriver, took their backpacks, and turned to leave. At the last minute, though, they saw that he finally had something to say.

“Pardon me,” he said, “but if I had a tradition going back three thousand years, I would be ashamed to eat what you two ate!”

The backpackers cut their tour short, booked a flight back to Israel, and enrolled at two well-known yeshivos for late starters in Yerushalayim. When last seen by the chassid who guided them there, the young man had a broad smile and a long black beard; his modestly-dressed wife shared the same broad smile; and they were accompanied by a long line of bright-eyed sons and daughters.

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As a perceptive young chassid once observed, C-O-I-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E is an eleven-letter Name of G‑d….