Our Gemara references the biblical process by which the different portions of the land Israel was allotted to the tribes via a lottery. There is this theological idea that using a lottery can somehow bring out divine intention and messages. Let us try to understand how this might work. 

There are a number of times where a lottery is used by Biblical figures to tap into divine guidance.  For example, Yehoshua used it to help determine who has committed a sin (Yehoshua 7:14-15, Sanhedrin 11a), so did the sailors in Yonah (1:7) to determine which passenger arouses the wrath of a deity, and even in the Yom Kippur service it is used to determine which is the Scapegoat (Vayikra 16:8).  

In a Teshuva of the Chavos Yair (61), he discusses a complex situation of a lottery that was improperly performed with having two winning ballots instead of one.  Some of the questions that arise are: Is the lottery totally redone or do we have the two winners do a run off? He makes a significant comment germane to our discussion:

"For we have seen from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings that they relied on the lot, as it is done without human thoughts or actions. Rather, the land was divided by lot... And so it is stated in Proverbs (16:33), 'The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Hashem.' We also find that even among the nations of the world, the lot was accepted, as seen in the case of Jonah the prophet and what Haman the wicked did. This is because it is likely that if the lot is done properly, it is accompanied by Divine providence. However, if the lot is flawed, one cannot claim that what was allotted by Hashem was rightfully his, whether the flaw occurred through human manipulation or by accident. In any case, the lot is corrupted, and each participant could argue: If the lot had been done correctly, the time would have favored me according to my destiny or according to my prayer to Hashem to grant me success in all my endeavors."

There seems to be this idea, that if one lets go of control, it allows room for divine intervention to become manifest.  I believe this is similar to a concept described in the following Gemara (Bava Metzia 42a):

The Sages taught: One who goes to measure the grain on his threshing floor recites: May it be Your will, O Lord, our God, that You send blessing upon the product of our hands. If one began to measure the grain he says: Blessed is He Who sends blessing upon this pile of grain. If one measured and afterward recited this blessing, this is a prayer made in vain, because blessing is found neither in a matter that is weighed, nor in a matter that is measured, nor in a matter that is counted. Rather, it is found in a matter concealed from the eye, as it is stated: “The Lord will command blessing with you in your storehouses.”

The revealed is blunt and forces a reality, while the hidden is subject to mysteries and is not fixed. If we think of spiritual emanations as weak but persistent forces, like breezes, then they can be influential but easily overridden. If we become distracted by our own physicality, fears, and wishes, we will not notice small intuitions because of our blunt and strong passions. However, when we let go of control, we are able to pick up and tune into a spiritual realm.  (The spiritual emanations are not actually weak.  They are truly strong. However, since they come from so far away, they are significantly weakened.  By way of metaphor, consider the heat and light from a distant sun. It is obviously very strong, but in our reality, it may be hardly perceptible with focussing on it.)

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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