GEN1456 It is hard to predict what influences we will have on [others’] lives.   Recall the man Joseph encountered when he was searching for his brothers.  The man told Joseph where to find his brothers, information that led to Joseph’s sale into slavery.  Without this anonymous messenger, Jewish history would be very different.   The rabbis say this man was a malakh.   However the Hebrew word malakh is ambiguous.  It means “angel” and also “human messenger.”   Being in the right place at the right time can allow us to be messengers of God without even realizing it.  I believe that we are all malakhim at times in our lives.   And, like Joseph’s malakh, we do not always know the significance of our actions.   (By Robert S. Karasov) DORFFBOD 91