Welcome to the Daily Chizuk (encouragement). Now, Rabbi Ephraim Waxman once said, life is like a play. What does that mean? Imagine you have a play, and there are two main actors. One has to play the part of a wealthy man, and one the part of a poor man. The person playing the wealthy man is a fairly new actor, and he's only making a few thousand dollars for the job. The poor man, however, is being played by a world-famous actor who's getting millions of dollars to play the part. But someone watching the play sees the wealthy man and thinks, “Wow, he has everything.” They look at the poor man and feel so bad for him. But nothing could be further from the truth. The one playing the poor man is a millionaire. Why? Because he knows how to play his part correctly. In life, it doesn't matter what your role is. If you know how to play your part correctly, you'll be a billionaire.
How does a person play the role of a poor man? The first thing he has to know is that Hashem knows what's best for you right now, and you have to accept his simcha (joy). When he gets to Barech Aleinu in the Amidah, he has to cry out to Hashem for Parnassah (livelihood). If someone ever asks him for Tzedakah (charity), he has to tell them, “I wish I could help you with more, but this is all I have.”
And how does one play the part of a wealthy man? He has to know that all the blessing he has is a gift from Hashem. It's not because he's smart in business. When he gets to Modim in the Amidah, he has to stop and thank Hashem for all the Beracha (blessing). If someone ever comes to him who needs charity, he better make sure to give him a nice amount of money. It doesn't matter which role you play, as long as you do your job correctly.
You could have a person sitting at a Shabbat table with his family, and it's very unpleasant. Everyone's being nasty to each other; there's yelling and disrespect. The father thinks to himself, “I always imagined Shabbat with the children all sitting respectfully at the table, each one giving a Devar Torah (Torah thought), singing nice songs, and no extra noise.” The man starts getting depressed. He says, “I don't understand Hashem. All I want is to have a nice Shabbat meal with a little Oneg Shabbat (Shabbat delight). Am I asking too much?”
He has to know that your job in life is to take the situation Hashem gave you and try your best to play the role properly. You have to be calm. You have to think of ways to entertain everybody. You have to maintain a pleasant life. There's an atmosphere. If you accomplish that, you're a billionaire.
A man once went to his Rabbi complaining. He said, “Rabbi, I tried to light a menorah (lampstand) last night, and I couldn't even get the Beracha out of my mouth without having to break up a fight between my children. I remember when I used to light a menorah in Yeshiva, I had all the kavanot (intentions). It was so peaceful; it was beautiful. And now I have so much more understanding of the subject, I could light with such better kavanah (intention).” So the Rabbi said, “Who said that Hashem gave you more understanding to have better kavanah? Maybe you have more understanding so you could figure out how to light a menorah with screaming children.” And if you do that right, you're a winner.
You could have a woman who sang the Amidah with her children pulling at her leg and nagging, and she could think to herself, “If I had more peace and quiet, I could pray a much better Amidah.” She also has to know: your job now in life is to be able to pray the best Amidah you can under these circumstances. That's all you have to do. A person might ask, “How do I know what my job is?” Whatever circumstance you find yourself in at that moment, that's your job. Don't complain; just play your role b'simcha (with joy), and you'll be successful. Have a great day.