My son called the other day to give me his daily update from yeshiva. He apologized for calling later than usual, but he was in the office of the yeshiva, talking to the Moshgiach (spiritual advisor) with a few other boys. Out of nowhere, the Moshgiach picks up a can of "silly string" that was sitting on his desk, attacks the boys with it, and then demanded that they clean it up, because they made him do it.
So, with smiles on their faces, they cleaned everything up.
It's important for anybody in a leadership position to understand who he is leading and how to keep them happy. Thankfully, this particular Moshgiach knows this well.
When a person goes collecting door-to-door, or within a shul during davening, everybody gives him a little money. It's assumed that, if I give a little, and the guy next to me gives a little, etc., he will eventually get the amount that he needs.
However, when a person comes to you directly and explains that he's the only child of a father who is sick and he's raising money for the medical bills; or that he's an orphan, raising money in order to buy what he needs for his upcoming marriage, something inside us goes off, and we give more.
The general rule is: when a person comes to us and we see that they have no other people who can help them, we tend to feel the pain more and give more.
And that's how Hashem Himself works.
When a person has an issue, whether it be financial or medical, he goes to all lengths to ease his situation. He goes to all sorts of doctors, or bankers. He takes out time to research his situation and to understand his options, he turns to Hashem, asking for some help ....
And in turn … Hashem will give some help.
Yet, when a person does all these things, but instead of asking for some help from Hashem, he turns to Him and says, "I have nobody I can turn to! I'm doing whatever I can because I am obligated to do so, however, in the end, only You have the power to help me," Then Hashem works accordingly.
Many years ago, we bought a small apartment over in the West Bank (no Palestinians were killed in the purchase). We only did so because it was literally the only thing we could afford. After two years, the value increased, and we had some additional funds, and we went to sell it in order to buy our current place. To say that the sale went badly, is an understatement. My lawyer, who has decades of experience, said that it was the strangest situation she has seen. It was in court for well over a year, with so many twists and turns, it was hard to keep track of what was going on. It was so stressful and strange, that I actually started to write a journal about it to relieve the stress, because the longer it went on, the more money I was losing.
Simply put, the person who signed to buy it, in the end, could not get a mortgage. So, his lawyer, who happened to hold a position in that particular settlement, put in fake papers about the apartment in the records, showing that legally speaking, one cannot buy or sell the property, in order to get his client off the hook without penalty. In the end, I had to return the money to the buyer. However, I had already used the money to purchase my current place. No problem, then. I just need to find a new buyer. But, how can I find a buyer, if there are legal issues which do not allow me to sell? Welcome to Israel.
Needless to say, it was a crazy period, and I was running around, making phone calls, doing whatever I could do.
At one point, I realized, "That's it. I literally cannot do anything more. Hashem, I give up, this is completely in Your hands. I'm done." And you know what? There was something relieving about it. I did what I could do, and when I turned it all over to Him, I felt somewhat relieved.
In the end, I found a new buyer, and his lawyer who was going to handle the purchase? He was the same lawyer who handled the original purchase saying that that apartment is impossible, legally speaking, to buy. Somehow, he forgot about that when he handled the second buyer.
Why does the pasuk use the double-language "he will cry out"? When a person believes that turning to Hashem is only part of the answer, he will cry out to Hashem, just like any other action he needs to take. And like any other action, once he does it, and it doesn't work, he won't return to do it again. But, if he knows that Hashem IS the answer, he will constantly cry out to Hashem, knowing that only He can provide relief, even though he hasn't been answered yet.
It's a very hard balance, because on one hand, we are obligated to do our hishtadlus and to work in the world to achieve whatever goals we have. Yet on the other hand, we are obligated to turn to Hashem and truly believe that only He can help us, despite all the hishtadlus that we are doing.
It's work that takes a lifetime to master, but when we turn to Hashem like a widow or orphan does, we know in the end, that just as we turned to Hashem, so too He will turn to us.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!