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Thought for the Day: Frustrated? Maybe You are Heading the Wrong Direction

The K'dushas Levi wonders why the malach (an angel of mercy) got angry with Bilaam for hitting his donkey.  After all, Bilaam had not seen the malach it is is perfectly natural to hit a donkey if it is not doing what it is supped to be.  The K'dushas Levi answers that when a person heads off to do (what he thinks is ratzon HaShem) and then something strange happens out of the blue, it means that HaShem doesn't want him to continue.  Therefore, when the donkey just stopped in its tracks (something it had never done before), a person should take notice.  He should stop and contemplate what he is doing and whether its really what he should be doing.  Bilaam, on the other hand, just got angry and started beating the poor donkey who was actually trying to save his life.

Most of us are not as bent on doing evil as Bilaam, so maybe we deserve a more subtle hint than Bilaam.  When an invisible angel of mercy throws a monkey wrench in the works, stop a moment and be sure you really wants "the works" to have that monkey wrench removed.
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