But there is one other significance to the day our daughter was born that took our breath away and ensured that we could not possibly overlook the Yad Hashem that appeared so clearly before our eyes. Orit Netanya was born on the seventeenth day of the month of Cheshvan, which not only was the day my wife got up from shiva for her sister – it is also the yahrzeit of my wife’s mother.
Exactly seventeen years to the day before our daughter came into this world, my wife’s mother passed away unexpectedly. The day we commemorate her yahrzeit each year has always been a difficult one for my wife. We are especially blessed that God saw fit to help us instantaneously transform the seventeenth of Cheshvan into a day during which we not just mourn a loss but also celebrate a birth.
In times of tragedy, people’s faith in God is tested mightily. Maintaining a strong sense of belief in Hashem during times of personal crisis is often a powerful and daunting challenge. However, when Hepersonally reaches out His Hand, as He did in our situation, it serves to fortify our faith in the Almighty and bolster our belief that everything happens for a reason. In the midst of despair the Yad Hashem was there to lift us up, light up our lives, and remove the darkness that had enveloped our world with my sister-in-law’s passing.
God put forth His Hand, and we feel humbled and privileged that we were able to grab hold and benefit from His incredible compassion and indescribable kindness.
N. Aaron Troodler is an attorney and a principal of Paul Revere Public Relations, a public relations and political consulting firm.
