I hope the ideas contained below, will provide you with some topics for discussion, at your Shabbos table.

In Fiddler On The Roof, Tevya the milkman famously sings; would it spoil some vast eternal plan “if I were a rich man”. In fact since we believe, that what happens to every person is important to Hashem, the answer should be Yes! Your wealth (or lack of it) is part of a vast eternal plan.
I feel this idea goes together with a line from Megillas Esther Chap. 1 Verse 3. Achashverosh makes a party “for all his officers and servants” (Lechol Sorov Vaavodov). The Vilna Gaon comments, two people have constant access to the king, the Prime Minister, and the king`s personal attendant. This is why Achashverosh made a party for his officers, and for his servants.
The Gaon adds, when the son of the great Rav Yochanan Ben Zakai fell ill, he asked Rav Chanina ben Dosa to pray for him. Rav Yochanan`s wife said to him, is Rav Chanina greater than you? He replied no, but I am like the prime Minister before Hashem (he was the leader of his generation and a great scholar), but he is like a personal attendant to Hashem. Through his constant, humble, and sincere prayers, he is like a personal attendant and therefore his prayers reach Hashem even more effectively than mine do.
The message for us is; possibly we cannot all be great like Rav Yochanan ben Zakai, (although maybe we could). But certainly we can all become personal attendants as Rav Chanina ben Dosa did, through regular, absolutely sincere prayer. Then our prayers will be very effective. Because our prayers do matter, they are a significant part of His “vast eternal plan”.
Incidentally, this is an explanation of Hashem`s rebuke, (Chap.12 Verse 80) to Aharon and Miriam in this week`s Sedra. “Why were you not afraid to speak about my servant about Moshe?” Moshe Rabeinu had both qualities, he was, so to speak, the Prime Minister of the nation, but he was also the humble servant (see Rashi there).

SOURCES; The Vilna Gaon on Megillas Esther & Sefer Taam Vodaas Parshas Behaaloscho.
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QUESTION FOR THE WEEK;

Question
Rashi says (Chap.10 Verse 25), the Tribe of Dan travelled behind the other Tribes, and collected everything they left behind, because they were the most numerous of the Tribes. But the Tribe of Yehudah had 74,600 people whereas the Tribe of Dan only had 62,000 people?

One Answer Is;
Yehudah had to be the leaders, so they went in front, and Dan were the next most numerous.

SOURCES; Sifsei Chachomim

If you have any comments, answers, or information, on any of the above, please E-mail me, or tell me.  My E-mail address is mail@rabbij.plus.com