Hashem Helped Me Fix My Computer—Really!

Such a simple phrase. But sometimes, it takes a moment of difficulty—or a small, surprising miracle—to remind us how powerful gratitude really is.

In Israel, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t say “thank You” to Hashem at least once a day—for what they’ve received, and even for what they haven’t. Still, it’s easy to slip into a mindset of “I deserve this,” taking even the biggest blessings for granted.

But as Jews, we’re meant to live differently. We’re meant to notice. To say thank You not only when things go wrong and then get better, but also during the regular, uneventful days—the ones we often overlook.

That’s exactly what Racheli Shikli realized, and it changed how she saw the hand of Hashem in her life.

She shared her story in a letter to Hidabroot, writing: “It may not be a miracle that saved a life, or healed a disease. But to me, it was a clear sign of Hashem’s kindness, and I feel it’s important to share it.”

It happened years ago, while she was on maternity leave. Her boss had kindly set her up with a home office so she could continue working, even from home. Back then, there was no internet, so every week she had to burn documents onto discs and transfer them between computers. This often led to glitches, and almost every week, a technician was called in to help.

But one morning, she turned on the computer and saw a black screen filled with strange text. No matter what she tried—restarting, checking cables—it wouldn’t go away.

A friend of the family who was good with computers stopped by the next day and took a look. After more than an hour of working on it, he delivered the bad news: everything was gone. The whole system needed to be reinstalled from scratch.

Racheli felt terrible. She didn’t want to bother her boss again. And this time, the issue was serious. Still, she chose to greet Shabbat with joy and trust that Hashem would help.

Saturday night came. The computer still didn’t work. But Sunday morning, after getting her children off to school, she sat down, turned on the machine, and again saw the same black screen. And then—she turned to Hashem with a full heart.

“I spoke to my Father in Heaven. I told Him how uncomfortable I felt about telling my boss there was another problem, and this time a big one. I asked for help. I promised: ‘If You restore everything, I’ll tell everyone about this miracle.’”

Then she turned off the computer, waited about thirty seconds, and used that moment to say thank You again. She asked that when she turned it back on, everything would work.

And then—she pressed the power button.

It’s hard to describe what happened next. “I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming,” Racheli said. “Everything came back exactly as it was. Just like that. I was completely moved. I truly felt Hashem right there with me—not only in big emergencies, but even in the little bumps of everyday life.”

Since then, she has kept her promise. “I tell everyone I can about this moment. I hope others read this and understand: You can rely on Hashem for everything. But don’t forget to thank Him, too.”