Welcome to the daily Chizuk (encouragement) Chag Sameach. On the Shalosh Regalim (three pilgrimage festivals), tens of thousands of people used to come up to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and visit the Beit HaMikdash. And the Pasuk (verse) says in Tehillim, which means, “Our feet stood still at the gates of Yerushalayim.” And the Ibn Ezra explains: Because there was such a multitude of people, there was a major traffic jam. They were all stuck at the gates trying to get into the city. We know, however, that the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot tells us: One of the ten miracles in Yerushalayim was, “Yerushalayim was so comfortable, no one ever said, ‘It's too tight in here.’” When in Jerusalem, the city expanded; it was airy and it was spacious. So remarkable. At the gates, a person could have been there for hours, sweating with wall-to-wall people. But once he got into the city, it was a totally different experience. It was a totally different story.
So Rabbi Falk asked, “Why didn't Hashem just expand the miracle a little further? Why did we have to be so cramped at the gates?” And the Rabbi gave two answers. Number one, he said, “Hashem wanted to show us how much He loves us.” If the second you got there was immediately expansive, you wouldn't have realized that Hashem is making this beautiful miracle for you. You would just say, “Yerushalayim could hold a lot of people.” But if you first experienced the congestion, and you said, “You saw what it's supposed to be like,” and then all of a sudden it becomes so comfortable, then you are Zocheh (privileged) to see the love that Hashem has for you. And there's nothing like feeling Hashem's love. Very often people go through a tough situation, and then comes the salvation, and they are singing the praises of Hashem: Baruch Hashem (Blessed is Hashem), Hashem is great. Hashem wants us to be close to Him. And sometimes He knows it's good for us to be lacking a little, so then we'll pray harder, and then the problem will be solved, and we'll feel the love and become even closer.
The second explanation the Rabbi gave for why the miracle wasn't extended to the gates is that this is one of the ways Hashem deals with us. Techilato kasheh v'sofo matok. The beginning is hard, but then we struggle and toil to do what's right, and that activates the siyata dishmaya, heavenly help, and then it gets easier and we see the sweetness. One of our jobs in life is to persevere through challenges. We try to do what's proper, but there are big hurdles. You could either give up, or you could push harder. And when a person gives all that they have, then Hashem steps in and opens the door wide. So the people first had to toil at the gates, but after struggling and getting through, they were able to see the beauty. I've heard so many stories of how people started projects or organizations, l'shem shamayim (for the sake of Heaven), and there were so many obstacles. They wanted to give up so many times, but they kept fighting through, and eventually everything started getting smoother. Challenges come up all the time, but if a person is patient and continues to do what's right, then they will see siyata dishmaya, and then they'll look back and say, “I can't believe I got through this, but baruch Hashem, everything is great now.” Have a great day.