On the verge of crying himself, Ari decided to take a walk so as not to have two best friends, sobbing in the back of a van in the middle of the forest. I mean, that would have really depressed things. So he left and began walking toward the motel.

Thinking about what he had done with his life until then and how his desire to go to college had blown up in his face, together with the stress of uncertainty as to how to pay for the van and what to do with his life from here, Ari began to cry.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realise that he was standing in the car park of the motel. He heard voices. He turned around to see these two guys passing by. They had black hats and beards. He had heard of Chassidim before but never seen any. He said hello to them and they returned the greeting. After the greeting, they immediately asked:

“Are you Jewish?”

Ari was shocked. Jewish? He thought…

“Yes!”

Before he could ask any more questions, they had ushered him to their room and slipped on a pair of Tefillin. He repeated the words after them.

It is worth explaining exactly who these guys were in case you are starting to think that perhaps they were Melachim (angels) or something else ‘other-worldly.' We've actually had guys like this come through Perth for a few weeks.

When he was alive, the Rebbe, of blessed memory, knew that the Jew is a person who explores frontiers and travels throughout the world. As a result, many Jews settle in little towns and villages that allow them to be close with the land and live peacefully, tucked away from the world. In essence, this lifestyle is magical but the danger is that, because they are removed from the community (at least in most cases) their Yiddishkeit becomes a thing of the past. Due to the Rebbe's drive to concern himself with all Jews and not only the scholarly or the wealthy, he would dispatch shlichim (emissaries) through the rural parts of America , Russia , UK etc, including Australia . The whole objective of these missions was to bring Jewish education, books, mezuzot, tefillin, etc., to Jews living in these places and perhaps arouse their inquisitiveness to return (at least in some way) to Yiddishkeit. These Shlichim would travel in a big van (‘Mitvah-tank') and display their message for all to see. Needless to say, their approach was far from subtle, but it has resulted in the strong return of many Jews. The foresight of the Rebbe in this matter alone has saved lives and drawn down G-dliness in a way never before known.

So, these two guys who had just snatched Ari out of his mental spiral of anguish were just such Shlichim who were stopping in the motel for one night as they made their way to the next village. If you are wondering somehow about coincidence or Divine providence, just hold on until the rest of the story unfolds.

After a very small discussion, Ari found his way back to the van by dusk and sat down with his mate, completely bewildered, and tried to relate what just happened.

By mid morning the following day, they began the drive into the college admin to let off their frustration. As they approached the college entrance, right there on their left stood a little old lady literally tapping a small sign into the ground. The sign read “To Rent.”

They stared blankly at each other as time seemed to stand still, everything suspended in space. Ari leant heavily on the wheel and pulled right up next to the lady in the driveway as she finished arranging the sign. They fumbled in the car for any loose change to show their willingness to rent and their jaws hit the ground when they found out they would be paying only US$300 a month. Not only this, but the woman had some paid housekeeping jobs to keep them busy right away. Further, the lady owned and rented the house next door to 3 gorgeous Australian girls studying nursing.

Anyway, they made it onto campus and Ari explains how everything, for the following 3 years just fell into place. He made it immediately onto the college team which paid for his expenses and secured him a scholarship to take care of his sports management degree. He recalls the whole college trip as some of his best memories.

He tells me how ungrateful he feels now, because, after that day until only recently, his friend and he never looked back and questioned the turn around of events. They just welcomed the change and used every last moment. But now, he sits in yeshiva, dovening and learning and he knows very well that the Aybishter looks down on us all and arranges our lives in ways we can't understand. But from time to time, he grants us the pleasure of seeing a revealed good, the sweetness of which is only felt with a little sensitivity and a touch of magic.