DVAR TORAH: Shavuos

3316 years ago, Hashem (G-d) gave us the most precious gift - The Torah. We became Hashem's nation and He has watched over us ever since. We need to train ourselves to be grateful (Hakaras Hatov) for all the big things and all the little things Hashem does for us as the following true stories illustrate:

An Ezer Mizion ambulance driver, Eli spends most of his day transporting sick and handicapped people to hospitals, medical appointments or other destinations. After dropping a patient off one morning at Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem, Eli was approached by a man who asked him if he was heading towards central Jerusalem.

Eli said yes, and offered the man a ride. During the drive, Eli found out that the man travels from Hadassah Hospital to central Jerusalem every morning.

A few days later, Eli was in Hadassah again, and another man came over to him. "Did you give someone a ride from here to central Jerusalem a few days ago?" the man asked.

"Yes," Eli recalled.

"That person was my brother," said the man, "and you saved his life. My brother takes the #19 bus every morning from Hadassah. Because he got a ride with you, he didn’t take his usual bus the morning of the #19 bus bomb …"

I heard the following from Mrs. Ros Dimenstein: When Reb Zushia was beset with stabbing pangs of hunger, he would thank G-d for a healthy appetite because someone who doesn't experience hunger when he doesn't eat could, nebach, be ill. We should all think of that next time we complain that dinner is 5 minutes late!