A husband was once asked for the secret behind his happy marriage.
“It’s simple,” he replied. “We divide responsibilities. We decided long ago that my wife makes all the small, routine decisions, and I make the major decisions.
“She decides what house we buy, where we go on vacation, which school the kids attend, if I should change my job, and so on.”
“And what are the big decisions?”
“Oh, I make the big, fundamental decisions. I decide if the United States should declare war on Russia, if Congress should appropriate money for a manned expedition to Mars, and so on.”
~ ~ ~
Tickets.
There are so many kinds. Airplane fares. Traffic violations. Event passes. The dry cleaner's tag. Or a raffle for a prize; a lottery.
When the Jewish nation first arrived in the land of Israel after breaching the walls of Jericho, they had to divide the land between the twelve tribes. A larger tribe (like Judah's, with a population of 746) received a larger portion, while Benjamin's trie (only 45k) received a smaller plot. They also appraised each plot to ascertain its quality, productivity, and ensure that each was receiving a fair share.
Interestingly, however, there was also a lottery. Twelve pieces of paper (parchment?) upon which the names of the tribes were written, and twelve pieces upon which the plots were written. Miraculously, the lottery had the exact same result as the careful appraisal. The big questions is, why were both of these allocation methods necessary?
This teaches us a very important lesson. As we go about our life, we are instructed to do everything within our control to achieve the desired results. We try our hardest in school. We go to the gym and exercise. We work six days a week, only resting on the seventh. We invest our blood, sweat and tears into raising our children. We do our utmost to help another, to build community, and to have an impact on the world.
And when we've run out of room on the runway, when our energy is depleted, when all of our efforts are up against a brick wall, when there are microscopic aerosols that we are attempting to avoid, when the world seems so confusing and direction so blurry, we remember that there is a lottery. There is the miraculous for us to fall back on. Hashem is there with His master plan, ensuring that things work out just so.
And sometimes, it is precisely when we have done our all, leaving it all on the field, that Hashem says, "I'm proud of you". Let me turn on the light, give you a refreshing drink, and help you across the finish line.