Welcome to the Daily Chizuk. The Pasuk (verse) in Eicha says, “Mah yit'onen adam chai? How could a person who is alive complain?” And Rashi in Masechet Kiddushin explains this Pasuk: Hashem is saying, “How could a person complain about the situations in their lives after all the chesed (kindness) I do for them? It’s enough that I’m giving you life.”
Mashal (parable): A group of people are traveling and get lost in a forest in the winter. It’s freezing and snowing, and they haven’t eaten in days. They all feel like they’re going to die. All of a sudden, a wagon drives by, and a man starts giving everyone food and drinks and extra clothing. Is anyone there going to say, “How come you didn’t bring me steak? Or why didn’t you give me a fur coat? Or how come he got a nicer piece?” They’re so happy to be alive; nothing else matters. Everyone has the ability to be happy no matter what’s going on.
I once read a cute line: “We all want to be in the city of happiness, but the city of happiness can only be found in the state of mind.” Possessions don’t bring happiness. There was once a king who was very ill, and the doctors told him, “Your only cure is to wear the shirt of the happiest man in the world.” They searched and searched and found him. The only problem was that he didn’t own a shirt. We choose whether to be happy or to complain.
Someone I know who spends all of her days doing chesed told me the other day that she remembers vividly her first chesed mission. She said it changed her entire attitude on life. She was a young mother going to visit an old woman who was confined to her fourth-floor apartment. The young woman was complaining the whole time: “It’s freezing outside; my two children aren’t cooperating.” She was trying to pull them up four floors. She entered the home of the 97-year-old woman, who gave her the warmest greeting. Every other word out of this woman’s mouth was, “Baruch Hashem (Blessed is Hashem), Hashem is so kind.” She said, “You’re so nice that you came to visit. I’m the luckiest lady in the world. My son calls me every day at 10 o’clock; he never forgets me.” Meanwhile, the older woman had only one child, and he was adopted. The young mother then said, “It’s freezing out there today.” The lady told her, “Beautiful, I love the cold weather. It makes you feel like you’re alive.” No complaints; everything was great. The lady told me that, till today, 40 years later, she still has those Baruch Hashems resonating in her head. No matter what happens, Hashem gives us the ability to be happy.
One of the masters at this was the Chafetz Chaim. In 1903, a fire broke out in his town in Radin and burned down many of the wooden houses in the Jewish quarters. The fire was put out right before it reached the Chafetz Chaim’s house. One year later, in 1904, a fire started on the other side of town. It burned all the homes, including the Chafetz Chaim’s, and it stopped there. As the bucket brigades were putting out the fire, the Chafetz Chaim’s house burned. One of the boys named Chaim Sinai noticed the Chafetz Chaim standing outside his house with his family, watching his house burn down. The boy wanted so much to hear what the rabbi was saying now. He got someone to take his place and went to listen.
What was the Chafetz Chaim saying? “Oh Hashem, you’re so kind. There was a decree on our town that all the houses had to be burned down, but in your infinite mercy, you did it in two stages. Last year, you took half the town, and while they were rebuilding their homes, you gave them a place to stay by us. And now, a year later, you’re taking the rest, and we’ll be able to stay by them while we rebuild ours.” This is how the Chafetz Chaim was reacting while his house was burning down. We all have this ability. May Hashem give us the koach (strength) to tap into this ability and to be happy all of the time. Amen (So be it).