Hijacked | Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

On the 6th of September 1970, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked TWA flight 741, flying from Tel Aviv to New York City. The hijackers forced the pilot to land in Jordan. The majority of the 310 passengers were transferred to Amman, and freed on September the 11th. The terrorists, however, kept the 56 Jews on that flight hostage. And it wasn't until more than three weeks later, on September the 30th, that the Jews were finally freed. Amongst the hostages was Rebbetzin Harari-Raful, who had remained notably calm during the whole ordeal, and had been an inspiration to the other hostages. Someone asked her how it was that she'd managed to stay so calm for three long weeks, with a gun barrel pointing her in the face and the threat of instant death at every single moment. And she replied, Whenever I felt panic starting to rise in my throat, I asked one of the terrorists for a drink of water. And when he gave the cup to me, I took the cup and said, with all my might, When I reached the word Hakol, I had the tremendous Kavanah that Hakol, everything, everything, even this terrible situation, was coming from Hashem. שהכל נהיה בדברו. And that gave me the strength to carry on. Look around you. Everything is Hashem's word. There's nothing else. Every challenge is being sent to you by Hashem. We're Jews. We don't believe in dualism. We don't believe in two powers. We don't believe that the Yetzer Hara is a loose gun. Nothing has any independent power. Nothing. If it's there, in front of your eyes, Hashem put it there. The Mesillas Yeshorim says that one of the only three reasons we're in this world at all is to stand up to tests, and everything is a test. Not just walking through downtown Manhattan, but also in your local kosher supermarket, in your own neighborhood, when you're working in your office, it's all בדברו, it's all coming from Hashem. Nowadays, the challenge isn't just big cities or vacation places, but when we realize that right now, Hashem, in His great love, is sending me this test, because He wants me to be closer to Him, how much easier will that be. And even more important, how much more meaningful. שהכל נהיה בדברו.