This week’s Parasha talks about a false prophet, who is given seemingly super-natural abilities. One might wonder why G-d would allow this? Why let a false prophet fool the people?
G-d says it is because He’s testing us, to see if we love Him. This is an important principle in our Torah: G-d tests people.
Furthermore, as Rav Yaakov Emden says, this is an expression of G-d’s love for us, because He is warning us beforehand, alerting us to the concept that G-d tests us; that there will be tests.
Mesilat Yesharim says that one third of a person’s life or mission is to overcome tests. It is part of life.
A Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (chapter 4) says that if a person learns Torah in poverty, in the end he will fulfill it from wealth.
On the surface, this means that if a person learns Torah and dedicates himself to learning even when he is poor or financially challenged, G-d will bless him and make him wealthy.
The obvious question, that all the Rishonim and Aharonim ask on this Mishnah is: we see people that dedicate themselves to Torah in poverty, but remain poverty stricken throughout their lives. Nothing changes. How are we to understand this?
There are different answers given.
Today I saw a beautiful answer from the Hasid Ya’avetz, who says that when a person does something right, but doesn’t get the outcome that he’s supposed to get, that’s a great test of his Emunah. And when a person is tested like that, and they accept it without complaint, it’s a tremendous atonement for one’s sins.
Therefore, he says, G-d will do such things to Sadikim, in order to benefit them, by giving them the opportunity to have their Emunah tested, have them pass their test and end up acquiring great levels from it.
For example- Avraham Avinu served G-d with his body. He did so much for Hashem. He sacrificed for Hashem, gave his son a Brit Milah after all those years.... and then G-d tested him by taking away his son? It does not seem fair. But it was a test of Avraham Avinu’s Emunah, and because Avraham passed that test, we live off that merit to this very day.
When a person’s Emunah is tested and he passes the test, it’s a tremendous, tremendous accomplishment.
He says this is the way of G-d and it is a secret of how G-d works.
We have to bear the challenges. We do not always see the happy ending, but many times we do, and we must learn from those happy endings.
Sometimes, as the Midrash Shemuel says, “One who learns Torah in poverty will enjoy it in wealth” means he will have poverty in this world but have wealth in the next world.
He might be poor down here, but he will be a billionaire upstairs. Sadikim are very wealthy upstairs. They have a lot of luxuries up there, whereas the opposite is true for those that are not.
The Hasid Ya’avetz says we have use the stories in Navi to give ourselves hizzuk. He says, imagine standing there watching wicked queen Izebel chasing Eliyahu HaNavi. You would think, something is wrong here. This wicked lady, who’s a proponent of idol worship and caused her husband, King Ahav, to do horrible things, is just a wicked woman. And she has the ability to oppress Eliyahu HaNavi, the great prophet?
If you watched the chase, you would wonder What’s going on?
But he says that one that hopes to Hashem, and hopes for a better future would wait and say, “I’m waiting- we’ll see what happens.”
And sure enough, Eliyahu HaNavi never died. He went up to heaven in a chariot and will last forever. On the other hand, Izebel didn’t even merit a funeral. She was pushed out a window, fell and broke her neck. Dogs ate her body. She had a horrible ending. So yes, Eliyahu HaNavi was tested. And that people of the generation were tested as well.
But people that withstand their tests get tremendous reward. That’s why specifically in that area, says the Ya’avetz, people are tested.
For example, think of someone who closed his store on Shabbat, but then his business went sour. How could that be? Shabbat is supposed to bring Beracha and now it caused the store to close?
The answer is that Hashem wanted to give this man tremendous merits, and cleanse him from all his sins. So, He tested his Emunah. And when he passes that test, he shines.
We have to know this rule. We have tests in life. We do not always get what we want, immediately.
There are tests, but they are there for us to gain, to see if we love Hashem. And if we pass the tests, we have a very happy ending.
This is an important lesson, for all people with challenges. They may wonder what they did wrong because they only did right. But that is the test.
Have faith and have a Shabbat shalom.