Losing your wallet is never fun but when Avi Ben Dayan lost his, it couldn’t have been at a worse time. Just that morning he had decided to take the plunge and go buy himself a Gemara. He realized the time had come to take things a tad more seriously and purchasing the right Gemara was the first step. Returning to yeshiva with his proud new purchase, he entered the class room and opened his fresh new Sefer. Suddenly, he realized that something was missing. His Wallet was gone. He couldn’t focus on the shiur and ran out to trace his steps to see if he could find it. He asked every person he met if they had seen his wallet. No one had. Some people helped him look around, others told him different Pesukim and Segulot that might help him retrieve it. But after retracing his steps to the store and back, he came up empty-handed. He was devastated. His credit cards, ID, debit cards and cash were all missing.

He felt dejected and frustrated, why is this happening to me? At a certain point, he recalled a lesson in Emunah that he had learned from one of the Rabbis in Lev. “Bitachon, faith, is not just to believe that everything WILL be good but also to recognize that everything happens for a reason. We might not understand it, we night not like it, but Hashem has a plan. Our duty is to recognize it and surrender to Hashem's will.”  He’d learned this lesson a while back but now, at crunch time, it was a hard pill to swallow. Avi decided to work on himself and come to terms with it, like it or not. At a certain point, he was ready. “I surrender” he thought, "I'm at peace with Hashem's will no matter what". At that second, there was a message on his phone. “Avi, it's Teddy, someone is looking for you, he found your wallet and wants to return it!”

What a lesson! Bitachon and Emuna; faith and belief that Hashem has a plan is critical. But it's only step number one. Step number two is coming to terms with it and surrendering to that Divine will. Avi did both. And he got his wallet back. There are two sayings that come to mind. 1) “When your down to nothing, Hashem is up to something!” 2) “Let go and let God”!