One of the most famous passages in Rashi’s commentary to the Humash is found in the beginning of Parashat Hayeh-Sarah.
The Torah tells us that Sarah Imenu lived 127 years, and then repeats, שני חיי שרה – “these were the years of Sarah’s life.” Rashi explains that the Torah repeated this to teach us that הכל שווין לטובה – “they were all equally good.” All of Sarah’s years were “equally good.”
The explanation of Rashi’s comment is well-known. Sarah went through a lot of hardship during her life. She and Avraham moved from place to place. She could not bear children until she was very old. She had Avraham marry her maidservant so he would produce children with her, and this caused a great deal of trouble. She dealt with famine. Twice she was abducted by kings. Nevertheless, all her years were “equally good.” She had so much strength, and so much faith in Hashem, that she handled everything calmly and with composure, and felt that everything in her life was good.
However, in the very next pasuk, Rashi makes another comment, which seems to contradict this depiction of Sarah.
Rashi writes that Sarah died as a result of akedat Yitzhak. The Satan came and told Sarah that her husband bound her son on an altar and slaughtered him as a sacrifice. When Sarah heard this, she went into shock, and her soul departed.
We must ask, if Sarah was so strong, and capable of handling even the most difficult situations, then why did she fall apart now, after hearing about the akedah? Why was she able to remain composed during every difficult test she went through during her life, but not this one?
The answer might be that Sarah could not handle the news of her son being slaughtered because her son was not actually slaughtered. What killed Sarah was not the akedah itself, but her imagination. She thought Avraham killed Yitzhak, when in fact he did not. She could handle everything that happened to her, but not that which she mistakenly thought happened to her.
This teaches us something very powerful. So often, what breaks us is not the reality, but our perception of the reality. The situation itself, even when it’s difficult and challenging, can be handled. We get into trouble when we overthink, when we start imagining things about the situation which get us anxious, angry, aggravated or distraught.
When we face a challenging situation, we need to tell ourselves: “I got this!!” We have to believe in ourselves, we need to trust that we can pass tests, that we can deal with adversity, we can overcome challenges. The problems start when we begin imagining things and reaching conclusions about what’s going on, making the situation seem so much worse, so much more serious, and so much more difficult than it really is.
As long as we are dealing with what’s really happening, instead of dealing with our misguided perception of what’s happening, we got this, because Hashem is always with us, and assures us that we can pass every test He sends our way.