A Helpful Hint For Losers

I don’t really know what’s been going on with me lately, but I’ve been losing things all over the place. Last week I lost my phone twice, and my bank card once. One morning I spent fifteen minutes frantically searching for my keys, and I’m almost positive that I permanently lost one of my favorite earrings. I’m blaming too many early mornings in a row, but regardless, being such a loser this week reminded me of one of the craziest and most useful things I learned in high school. I had an incredibly zealous Bible teacher my senior year, and though she was clearly an incredible scholar of traditional commentaries on Tanach I wasn’t her biggest fan. Despite our differences, I have always appreciated that she made all of the girls in her class memorize this little piece of halachic writing to say when you’ve lost something. It’s very superstitious, but basically you say it when you can’t find something, and then, magically, you find the thing you’ve been looking for. I generally don’t put much stock in this kind of thing, but I have to say, often when I can’t find something little and specific I say this phrase, and a minute later I’ve found what I needed. The key is remembering to say the phrase. Sadly, I can’t type in Hebrew on my computer, but I’ll give a transliteration, a translation and a citation below.

Amar Rabbi Binyomin, Hakol bchezkat sumin ad sheHakadosh Baruch Hu meir et aynayhem. Rabbi Benyamin said, “All are considered blind until the Holy One, Blessed be He, lights up their eyes.” Midrash Rabba Breishit, 53:19

Okay, so it’s corny and ridiculous, but it really has worked for me in the past. So if you’re having a week like mine, and you need to find something, it’s worth a try, right? And if it doesn’t work, try some of the tips on this Cool Tools post.