Welcome to the daily chizuk (encouragement). The pasuk (verse) says, “When Hashem redeems us from this exile, it’s all going to feel like a dream.” Sometimes in dreams, things look terrible and we get scared. But when you wake up, you realize there was nothing to be afraid of. The troubles of olam hazeh (this world) appear to be very bad, but it’s all going to be like a dream. The next pasuk says, “When Mashiach (Messiah) comes, it’ll be so clear that it was all Hashem’s mercy, and we will break out into song.”
The Midrash Tanchuma writes that the future ge’ula (redemption) will only come b’schar (in the merit of) emunah (faith). Having emunah will bring Mashiach. But what type of emunah? Rav Elchanan Wasserman says, “The emunah that Hashem is controlling everything.” The Ya’arot Devash writes, “The emunah of accepting the way Hashem deals with us with love.” How do I know if I really believe that? How do you respond to the challenges of life? If you’re a ma’amin (believer) that Hashem is only interested in benefiting you, then even if you have to have pain, you’ll be able to bear it with a smile.
If we know that a certain pain is beneficial to us, we’re even willing to spend money on it. Every time I go for a teeth cleaning, I think of this. They scratch at the gums. There’s blood. There’s a lot of pain. But I’m happy to do it, because I know what it’s doing for me. People pay money to go to nutritionists who severely restrict their diets. But they do it b’simcha (with joy), knowing how beneficial it is to their bodies. Weightlifters endure a ton of pain, but they do it b’simcha. They know the benefits.
I once saw a mashal (parable). A man comes out of the courtroom singing and dancing, and someone asks him, “What are you so happy for?” He said, “I just paid $10,000.” They said, “You paid $10,000 and you’re happy?” He said, “Yeah, I was being sued for $10,000,000, and I only had to pay $10,000,000.” That’s what Yisurin (suffering) is like in this world. If a person has a leak in their roof and has to pay $1,000 to fix it, that was also from Hashem for your benefit. Pay with b’simcha. It was l’tov. It was for our good.
This is the simple emunah, that Hashem is Mashgiach al hakol (overseeing everything), and everything is good. Somebody told me the other day that one of his workers took a lot of money and ran away. His emunah, he said, got so much stronger. In the past, he would have gone crazy, and now he accepts that Hashem had his best interests in mind. A person stubs his toe; it was decreed in Shamayim (Heaven) for your good. Don’t get upset.
The Reshit Chochmah writes that greater than physical pain is emotional pain, and the worst pain is being embarrassed. People would do anything not to be shamed. But if it ever happens, it was also from Hashem, l’tov. It was for our good. We don’t realize the Zechut (merit) of accepting this with love. We don’t have answers now as to why. But B’ezrat Hashem (with God’s help), if we strengthen that simple emunah, then Hashem will bring the Mashiach, then our mouths will be filled with laughter, and we will understand everything. Shabbat shalom.