In the hands of Heaven

The book of Bamidbar is known as 'The Book of Numbers' (Chumash haPekudim) because it both begins and ends with a counting of the Jewish people. This week's parsha contains another listing of the populations of the various tribes. The Chofetz Chaim points out that the Tribe of Benyamin had 45,600 people while the Tribe of Dan had 65,400 people. Thus Dan had approximately 20,000 more people than Benjamin. However, if you examine the progeny of the founders of the tribes themselves, you will see that Dan had only 1 son while Benyamin had 10 sons. And not only was Chushim the only son of Dan, but he was deaf as well.
If at the beginning of the Egyptian exile, we had tried to predict which of these two tribes would be larger a few generations forward, clearly the mathematical projection would have been that the Tribe of Benyamin would be far more populous than the Tribe of Dan. This statistical likelihood, of course, never materialized.
The Chofetz Chaim (1838-1933) says that we learn from here that if G-d wants to bless a person with many descendents, he WILL be blessed with many descendents, even if through natural factors that is unlikely. "G-d decrees and fulfills His decrees." Conversely, if G-d feels that a person should not merit many descendents, then it will not happen even if he has the best situation "on paper". This lesson applies to everything in life, explained the Chofetz Chaim. It applies to wealth. It applies to finding a suitable marriage partner. It applies to health. It applies to everything!
Sometimes we look at a situation and ask - based on natural projections (derech haTeva) - how will this person earn a living? How will he be able to survive financially? G-d has many messengers. The Tribes of Dan and Benyamin are testimony to the fact that G-d is All Powerful. He has His own calculations. That which we think will happen, by the natural order of events is not always what happens. Everything is in the Hands of Heaven.

The above dvar Torah was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes and transcribed by David Twersky

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