This week I visited an elderly woman in the hospital. She sadly expressed to me that for quite some time she is constantly suffering. “What have I done so terrible to deserve this?” she painfully asked. It is very difficult to respond in the face of such human misery, but Torah provides us with perspective on every facet of life – including suffering.
In this week’s parsha, G-d warns the Jewish people of the dire consequences for neglecting Jewsh observance. The list of curses is terrifying, yet the Torah assures us that we will survive all of them intact. How is it possible to endure such suffering and yet continue to have faith?
A story is told of the great sage Rabbi Akiva. He was on his way to a city when the sun set and due to the fact that the inhabitants were extremely inhospitable, he had to take shelter in the woods. It was a dark night. He lit the only candle he had. He also had a rooster with him to wake him early in the morning, and a donkey on which he rode. Now a strong wind blew out his candle and he remained in darkness. The next moment the rooster was snatched by an animal of prey and a similar fate befell his donkey. Each time Rabbi Akiva said, "All that the Merciful One does is for good."
In the morning when Rabbi Akiva arrived in the city he learned that a band of vicious robbers had passed through the forest that night and attacked the city and had captured all the inhabitants to be sold into slavery. Had they known of Rabbi Akiva's presence by seeing the light of the candle or hearing the crow of the rooster and the bray of the donkey he would have surely had suffered the same tragic fate!
True, he had suffered the loss of livestock and was forced to spend the night at the mercy of the elements in the forest, but in the broader picture these were the greatest blessings.
The powerful lesson of this story is derived from Rabbi Akiva’s reaction during his suffering. Alone in the forest prior to understanding the lifesaving results of his losses – he confidently stated "All that the Merciful One does is for good." G-d is the master of the world and all that He causes to occur is surely for the best. Just as a loving father cares for an only child.
The teachings of Chassidus allow us to discover the hidden good within our reality. On the surface the world may seem dangerous and forbidding, yet in truth it is a beautiful garden ready to realize G-d’s purpose in creation. Likewise, we are taught that each individual is truly a reservoir of goodness and kindness, possessing a divine soul yearning to be expressed.
Despite the truth explained above, we hope and pray – we can actually demand of G-d – that we should always experience only revealed good. May we merit the immediate arrival of Moshiach who will usher in an era of revealed goodness and kindness for the entire universe.