At the beginning of the Ten Commandments, Hashem introduced Himself as the One Who took us out of Egypt, rather than as the One Who created Heaven and Earth. The reason is because it is not enough for a Jew to believe that Hashem created the world. He must also believe that Hashem runs the world and is totally involved in all that occurs through meticulous Hashgachah Peratis (Divine Providence). In Egypt, Hashem demonstrated this by His intervention and by saving the usurped from his usurper. We are commanded to remember this always and to apply it to every aspect of our own lives. It is a basic tenet of Judaism.

In his book Borechi Nafshi, Rabbi Zilberstein shlita relates that someone from Bnei Brak told him a very interesting story. "Quite a while ago, our apartment suddenly became infested with mice. My wife and I called exterminator after exterminator, and each one used stronger and stronger poisons, but to no avail. We just could not get rid of the pests.

"I understood that this must be some sort of punishment from Heaven, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Finally, as a last resort, I hired the most experienced man I could find. I paid him a very high fee, and I begged him to do all that he could to clean the house of the rodents.

"While working, for no logical reason at all, the man told me that a neighbor of his in Ra'anana happened to tell him that he is very angry with someone who lives in Bnei Brak. The fellow from Ra'anana was a Rebby in a yeshiva, and one gloomy morning, the principal of the yeshiva handed him a notice that he was fired; with no explanation at all, and, in his opinion, with no justification at all.

"The exterminator said that his neighbor told him the story with a very heavy heart, and it was obvious that he held a very strong grudge against the principal who fired him.

"When I heard this story, which was told to me totally out of the blue, I turned white and I felt strongly that it was directed towards me. I am a principal of a yeshiva and a while ago I fired a rebby who lived in Ra'anana. I ask the exterminator to check the details with his neighbor, and, sure enough, a few hours later he called me to tell me that I am the one against whom he holds a grudge."

The man understood that the plague of mice was somehow connected to the incident in yeshiva, and he went to Rabbi Zilberstein to ask what to do. Rabbi Zilberstein explained to him that one should not fire someone before consulting with a competent Rabbi. "Go to the Rebby in Ra'anana," Rabbi Zilberstein told him, "and tell him what happened to you and that you are sure that it is because of him that you are being punished. Just the fact that you recognize Hashem's Providence will make things better for you. Then work out your differences between you and him and everything will be fine again."

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