Summary

"A person is obligated to make a blessing when something bad happens just like one makes a blessing when something good happens." "With any measure that He [G'd] deals with you, you should thank Him." Rabbi Akiva practiced what he preached: "Whatever G'd does, He does for the good." When a person reaches the level of belief of Rabbi Akiva, he can accept everything lovingly and rejoice all the time. G'd orchestrated the rise of Haman, as well as Mordechai's leading the Jewish people, in order to bring about that the Jewish people should lovingly renew their acceptance of all the commandments of the Torah. Rabbi Akiva did not need to stand in judgment or suffer anything to be purified before entering the World to Come. The Bobover Rav requested his son to scream with joy when they were about to give their lives to sanctify Hashem's name. The key to a happy life is to understand that this world is just the hallway before the banquet hall of the World to Come. The sole purpose of "sufferings of love" is to enable a person to reach a higher level of enjoyment in the World to Come. The famous parable of the kind nobleman and simple worker illustrates this concept. Often a person's suffering is related to his earlier life in this world. The Cantonists were reincarnations of the priests who had served the idol Baal during the time of the Prophet Eliahu. The Jewish slaves in Egypt were reincarnations of the generation of the Great Flood who had sinned gravely. "In the month of Nissan our ancestors were redeemed and in the month of Nissan we will be redeemed."

Love HASHEM

The Talmud (Berachos 54a) teaches: "A person is obligated to make a blessing when something bad happens just like one makes a blessing when something good happens." The Talmud learns this from what it says in Shema (Devarim 5:5): "And you shall love HASHEM your G'd with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources.'" The Talmud explains: "With all your heart, with your two inclinations, your good inclination and your evil inclination; with all your soul, even if He takes your soul; and with all your resources, with all your assets."

"With all your measures"

The Hebrew words for "all your resources" is "uvchol meodecha". These words, says the Talmud, can also be read as "uvchol meedecha" meaning "with all your measures". Based on this the Talmud continues with a second interpretation and says, "With any measure that He [G'd] deals with you, you should thank Him." The Talmud (Berachos 61b) describes the horrible death Rabbi Akiva suffered at the hands of the Romans to illustrate our obligation to serve G'd even if He takes our life. The Jerusalem Talmud elaborates on this and relates how Rabbi Akiva's flesh was torn with iron claws. While this took place, it became time to recite Shema. Rabbi Akiva's face radiated tremendous joy as he recited the Shema with great devotion. His disciples could not believe what they saw and asked him, "Even now you are happy?" Rabbi Akiva answered, "All my life I longed for the opportunity to fulfill the verse of serving G'd with all my soul, even if He takes my life. Now that it came my way how can I not rejoice?"

Rabbi Akiva

This is how Rabbi Akiva lived all his life. In every situation, he saw something positive. The Talmud (Makkos 24b) relates that Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues came to the ruins of Temple. Just then a fox came out of the place where the Holy of Holies had been. The other rabbis started to cry, but Rabbi Akiva rejoiced. When they asked him what this joy was all about, he explained that just as he saw the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Micha regarding the total destruction of the Temple site, so he was convinced that the day will come when the words of the Prophet Zachariah, for the bright future for the Jewish people, will be fulfilled with the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Thus he practiced what he preached: "Whatever G'd does, He does for the good."

Accept everything lovingly

It is clear from Rabbi Akiva's answer that he did not look at his situation as dealing with the Romans. He referred to it as G'd taking his life. As an act of G'd, it could only be good. When a person reaches this level, he can accept everything lovingly and rejoice all the time. Throughout the generations many people rose to the situation and were ready and happy to give up their lives to sanctify G'd's name.

Scream with joy

Such an amazing incident is described in the book "Nor the Moon by Night" by Devora Glicksman (Feldman):

"On 16 Sivan 5703, the Bobover Rav, Reb Shloime, and his young son Naftuli, were arrested for trying to cross the Polish border into Czechoslovakia. The Polish commissar warned them that they would be tortured and killed if they did not reveal the names of their smugglers to their Nazi interrogators. [The] following is a speech of strength and encouragement that the Rav gave to his young son that Friday night in jail:

'I want you to know that a Jew cannot be shot. A Jew has a neshamah that Hashem gives him, which cannot be destroyed. The body, which is only a garment for the neshamah, may be shot, but the neshamah remains intact. Today, I am your father and you are my child. Tomorrow, we will be two neshamos, sacrificed to sanctify the Name of Hashem.

I want you to remember the Yamim Tovim in Bobov … The excitement of dancing on Simchas Torah … singing U'she'avtem mayim b'sasson joyfully as we drew the water for baking matzos. And remember every Erev Pesach, when we baked matzos for the Seder … der Zeide sang Hallel while he walked among the tables, handing out pieces of dough to roll.

Naftulche, I feel that we will no longer bake matzos, nor will we dance on Simchas Torah. But there is one more mitzvah [commandment] we can fulfill with simchah [happiness]. Tomorrow, we will give our lives to sanctify Hashem's name.

I am asking one thing of you that I know will be very difficult. You are a child; you they will not torture. But be prepared. According to the Polish commissar, they will torture me to find out the name of the smuggler. It will be to no avail; I will not tell. And they will force you to watch while they beat me and the blood runs down my face and body. At that moment, let us both scream out 'Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad!' with happiness and conviction.

Just as we understand that dancing with the sefer Torah on Simchas Torah is a simchah, so too, performing the mitzvah of sanctifying Hashem's name is just as great a simchah. Remember, at that moment, think of nothing other than giving your life with simchah. Remember that Olam Hazeh [this world] is just havel havalim [futility of futilities] - and that the only thing we can accomplish here that has any true value is our avodas Hashem [serving G'd]. Try not to cry or despair. Instead, scream along with me in joy, Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad.'

Miraculously, the next morning, an askan from the community warned the Polish commissar that he would report the commissar's illegal activity to the Nazi commander if he did not swear that the Rav was a Hungarian citizen. The commissar cooperated, and the Rav and his son were let go."

Purim

We can now understand the deeper meaning of a startling statement in the Talmud. The Talmud (Megillah 7a) teaches that on Purim a person should reach a level of intoxication where he sees no difference between the curse of Haman and the blessing of Mordechai. Between the two of them, they brought the Jewish people back to repent for their wrongdoings. As the Talmud (Megillah 14a) says: "The removal of the ring [that Ahashvarous gave to Haman] was more powerful than the 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses that prophesized to the Jewish people. For they all did not manage to bring the Jewish people completely back to do what is right, whereas the removal of the ring accomplished that." G'd orchestrated the rise of Haman, as well as Mordechai's leading the Jewish people. In this way, both Haman and Mordechai were instrumental in bringing about that the Jewish people should lovingly renew their acceptance of all the commandments of the Torah.

Olam Haba

The Talmud further relates that as Rabbi Akiva's soul left his body, a Heavenly voice rang out and said, "Fortunate are you Rabbi Akiva, you are ready to enter eternal life of Olam Haba." Tosafos (Ketubos 103b) explains that this means that, unlike most people, Rabbi Akiva did not need to stand in judgment or suffer anything to be purified before entering the World to Come. This teaches us that any suffering a person endures in this world diminishes his judgment and punishment in the World to Come.

Key to happy life

This is the key to a happy life. Unless we realize that this world is just the hallway before the banquet hall of the World to Come, we cannot possibly be happy all the time. No one is spared some form of suffering or pain in this world, so how can we be happy? Only if we understand, and truly believe, that there is a constructive purpose in our sufferings and challenges, as a preparation for the World to Come, then we can be at ease and even rejoice all the time.

Sufferings of love

Our sages have provided us with another tool that can help us, when we experience suffering. They explain that there is a concept of a person suffering without having sinned. The Talmud (Berachos 5b, see also Zohar 3:46a) refers to these sufferings as "sufferings of love", as their sole purpose is to help the one suffering to reach a higher level of enjoyment in the World to Come.

The kind nobleman and simple worker

There is a famous parable that illustrates this concept. A simple worker was employed by a kind nobleman who dealt with his workers with honesty and integrity. One summer the nobleman informed his workers that he was going to a different estate of his for a few months, and that he had appointed a manager to take care of his local interests. This manager turned out to be very cruel. He disliked the simple worker and was horrible to him. Often he would get mad at him and whip him for no good reason. Eventually, the nobleman returned, and the worker decided to complain about the mistreatment he had suffered while his boss was away. He approached the nobleman and showed him all his bruises and wounds. The nobleman was enraged at what he saw and called in the manager to investigate what had happened. He realized that the manager had abused his power and he ordered him to pay 1,000 rubles for every time he had whipped the poor worker. When the worker came home, his wife noticed that he was still quite upset. She asked him, "Why are you still upset? Don't you think that this is a fair compensation for what he did to you?" Sure", said the worker, "but I just wish that the manager would have given me a few more lashes." This might very well be how we are going to feel in the World to Come. Every pain and every suffering we go through in this world has great value there. So it is not unlikely to assume that once we get there we will think back and wish that we suffered a little more in this world.

Rectify previous wrongdoings

Rabbi Chaim Vital (Gates of Reincarnations) explains a different dimension to help us understand people's suffering. He writes that often a person's suffering is related to the person's earlier life in this world. Based on the Zohar, the Kabbalists teach that most people today have lived earlier lives. As such our purpose is to rectify our previous wrongdoings and complete our mission that we did not accomplish in our earlier lives. We therefore often find good and righteous people, who do their utmost to fulfill every commandment possible, nevertheless go through suffering and challenges in their life. Obviously, their suffering has nothing to do with their present situation. Rabbi Vital further explains that this is why we find innocent people passing away at a young age, sometimes even as infants.

Reincarnations of idol worshippers

Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman once asked the Chofetz Chaim about the Cantonists. These were young Jewish children snapped away and taken to the Russian army at the time of the Czar. They were typically seven years old and were kept in the army close to 25 years. They suffered terribly and obviously hardly had any connection to the faith of their fathers after their ordeal. How could G'd allow such a tragedy to happen to such innocent children? The Chofetz Chaim answered that these children were reincarnations of the priests who had served the idol Baal during the time of the Prophet Eliahu. With their present suffering they atoned for their sinful lives then (see Melachim 1:18). Only the Chofetz Chaim on his high spiritual level was privy to this information. Everyone else had no clue why these innocent children were suffering.

Reincarnations from the Great Flood

Next week, we are celebrating the Festival of Pesach to commemorate the exodus from Egypt. On Seder night, we read the Haggadah and discuss in detail how our ancestors suffered during their slavery. Again, the question arises, why did the Jewish people have to go through so much suffering? Many of these people were born into slavery. What had they done wrong that they had to suffer so much? The Kabbalists explain that these slaves were reincarnations of the generation of the Great Flood who had sinned gravely. Through their suffering in Egypt, they rectified their earlier sins.

Redeemed in the month of Nissan

As we learn about these issues, we gain a better understanding of what Rabbi Akiva said, "All that G'd does, He does for the good." We must strive to follow in Rabbi Akiva's footsteps, for as it says in the Way of the Righteous: "Only someone who believes in G'd and trusts Him can live with happiness all the time." The Festival of Pesach strengthens our belief in G'd as we internalize all the miracles that took place before and after the exodus. The Ramban explains that these miracles teach us that, not only did G'd create the world, but He takes an interest and cares about everyone. May we all have a happy and kosher Pesach. And may we soon experience the fulfillment of the words of the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 11a) that "in the month of Nissan our ancestors were redeemed and in the month of Nissan we will be redeemed." Amen.

These words were based on notes of Rabbi Avraham Kahn, the Rosh Yeshiva and Founder of Yeshivas Keser Torah in Toronto.

Shalom. Michael Deverett