Hashgacha Pratit Stories

amother

Babyblue

Wed, May 24 2017, 2:19 pm

Please post your hashgacha pratit stories!

Have always loved them and find them uplifting.

On Instagram, you can find a lot of inspirational stories, but not so many hashgacha pratit stories. I would like to post it to my instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/hashgachapratit/

Please say if you would like your story to be shared publicly- on instagram.

Please say whether you would like to put a name to the story.

Anonymous bc I'm shy.

Stories posted here will be credited to imamother
Posting with permission from Yael.

Thank you!

amother

Gray

Wed, May 24 2017, 3:15 pm

Going anonymous because this is a well known story to my family and friends.

Picture this scenario: It's a wintery March day and the minivan is all packed to go. The family of six is busy making sure they have all their last minute stuff and plenty of things to keep them busy for their 9 hour drive from NY to Toronto. Usually they would set out early Friday morning but Shabbos comes early in March and they need to be ready even earlier because they're going for a simcha. So for once they're setting out on a Thursday on their way to their nephew/cousin's bar mitzvah.

There are a few ways to drive to Toronto. Usually we like to take a more scenic route and avoid tolls but today the weather is iffy so the parents decide to take the Thruway. This story takes place in 1994, before the ubiquitous use of cell phones and other electronic devices. A neighbor happens to have an early version of a cell phone which was bigger then the cordless phones we use today. On a whim, the parents ask to borrow the phone in case of emergency and the neighbors willingly agree. There is no such thing as E-ZPass yet so cars must patiently wait in line to pay the Thruway toll in cash and get a paper receipt.

The trip goes fairly simply at first, with only the usual sibling squabbling from the backseat to deal with. The mother gets bored and reads the Thruway receipt front and back. The weather starts to get worse, first rain and then snow as the minivan heads north. Then disaster strikes! The van breaks down in the middle of a snowstorm. Here's where the hashgacha pratis really kicks in. The driver manages to pull over to the side of the road right next to a mile marker. The mother remembers that the Thruway receipt has a number to call in case of emergency and they happen to have the borrowed cell phone to make the call. The mother calls and is told that emergency services are swamped due to the storm but she pleads her case that she has 4 kids in the car an no heat. They promise to send a tow truck as soon as possible. Soon enough a tow truck arrives and we find out one more piece of "luck" - the nearest town happens to have a dealership for the particular type of car we are driving so they are likely to have any parts needed to fix it already in stock. The tow truck brings us to the dealership in a thrilling ride for the kids, although the mother does not enjoy it so much. There is a motel in town with available rooms and we make the best of it that night with whatever food we have leftover.

The next morning we wake up to 3 feet of snow on the ground. The father goes back to the dealership to hurry them along so we can get back on the road and make it to our destination in time for Shabbos. The mother goes to the general store to scrounge for kosher food to feed her hungry brood. The kids think it's all a grand adventure. Eventually the parents come back with the fixed car and bags of random food and we all pile back in the car. That was a trip we never forgot!