Welcome to our class on humility. We continue with the topic of accepting suffering with humility. David Hamelech, in chapter 23 of Tehilim says the famous pasuk
גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃
/Even though I go in the valley of death, I do not fear evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they will give me comfort.
The word shevet /rod is something to hit with. Like the pasuk says,
וּפָקַדְתִּ֣י בְשֵׁ֣בֶט פִּשְׁעָ֑ם /Iwill remember them with a staff for their sins
וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ is something you lean on, something you get support from. Like we say, Mishan U'Mivtach L'Sadikim The word Mishan is like a cane that you lean on. Hema Ynahamuni/They give me comfort.
Rashi says, Shivtecha refers to the suffering, and Mishan means I feel guaranteed in your kindness. Right now I'm going through Din/justice but with that din and justice, I am relying on You that it will turn around. I know that the suffering will cause my sins to be forgiven and therefore I am Batuach/guaranteed that I will go back to my kingdom. David Hamelech said this when he was on the run.
So yes, there's a shevet/rod. David Hamelech realizes that he just got whacked, but he knows that ultimately this whack will bring him the good.
The Tomar Devorah adds another point, when discussing Nachum Ish Gamzu, who famously said, Gam Zu L'Tova /This is also for the good
This also, that looks like it's coming from the bad and looks like justice, is good. He would try to take the bad and say it's going to turn around to the good. Gam zu L'Tova.
Rav Shlomo Kluger, in his commentary on the siddur says, It says Hodu L'Olam Ki Tov, we thank Hashem that it's good. Ki L'Olam Hasdo/ His kindness is forever. The Jewish people have to say, Ki L'Olam Hasdo. And if you say it and work on realizing that this difficult situation is for the good, that will turn it into the good. But it starts by accepting that it's difficult, acknowledging that It's hard but I'm going to accept it, although it's difficult. That Emunah, and working through it will turn it around.
There's a sefer Rav Yeveh Al HaTorah, by Rav Yaakov Yosef ben Yehuda (1738- 1790) one of the students of the Maggid of Mezrich (who sent his students to hear from Rav Zusha how to make a blessing on the bad and good in the same way). He says because Nahum Ish Gamzu believed (he didn't feel it, but he believed) that everything is Hessed and Rachamim, he was able to take the din, which was justice and turn around. That's what happened when he bought gold and jewels to give to the king as a present. But an innkeeper stole the gold and precious items and replaced them with dust. When Nachum Ish Gamzu got to the king, he discovered that the chest was full of dust and said Gam Zu LTova, and Hashem made a miracle that the dust turned into miraculous dust like the dust of Abraham Avinu. When they threw it at the enemy, it turned into arrows and spears. That it turned into dirt was calamity, and I don't know what Nachum was thinking, but he turned it around. It was justice, he says, but it turned out to good. He offers a nice explanation of the pasuk, "VaYomer Elokim Vayehi Or/God (of justice) says, let there be light."
What does that mean? When a person is in a situation of Elokim/ Middat HaDin and he says 'Yehi Or/let this judgment that's happening to me turn into a light,' then yehi Or/ it will turn into light.
I once saw a beautiful quote by Rabbi Moshe Wilson z'l via email ( I don't have the source in a book) when he was still alive. It quoted him as saying that the Mekubalim teach that
המתקת הדינים בשקדים which means justice/din is sweetened at its source. What does that mean? He explains that justice emanates from a spiritual world that demands that no spark be left behind, no soul will be lost and that we all must do teshuva.
Similarly, Rav Wolbe used to always say that Middat HaDin is Tovea Shelemut/God's justice is demanding perfection. It's not this big mean, angry Middat HaDin. No Middat HaDin is the teacher that says, "Come on Abie, you can do better. I think you could get a higher mark. Take the test again. Study harder, you'll do better. I want more than an 83. I want a 90." That's Middat HaDin It's demanding perfection.
In Shemuel 2, 14:14 it says,
לְבִלְתִּ֛י יִדַּ֥ח מִמֶּ֖נּוּ נִדָּֽח׃ /So that nobody is pushed away, which is a kabbalistic concept that Hashem works the world that the end everyone will come back. So now the verdict says "Such and such person has to return." They want this soul back. Being way up there in Shamayim, can there anything be sweeter than that? But then when the justice goes out from its root and enters our world, it might be implemented harshly, maybe has v'shalom with an illness, a financial loss or other calamity to pull this Neshama out of its bond with evil and bad character traits etc.. the court decided that's what he needs and the verdict goes forth. But what happens if instead of the judgment coming out of its source and reaching us, we go back to the source of the justice on our own? What if we ourselves realize that since we will anyways be forced to return to our source through suffering, we'll do the work of teshuva and avoid all the pain. Once you take that attitude, everything turns around. That's why it says, If one sees suffering is coming his way. Why doesn't it say When he's suffering? The Ben Ish Chai in his sefer Ben Yoyada on that Gemara says that Hashem, in His mercy, doesn't bring things on a person immediately.
First there are little telltale signs. The financial climate is not good. You get a little scare and you have to go take a test… He sees it coming, but it hasn't come yet. And then he says, "Oh no! I'm humbled. I realize, I have things to fix," and he returns to Hashem- and that's it! It goes away because we fulfilled the purpose and then the justice becomes sweet, because even if the Teshuva demands that we break our ego (that's what it's all about. That's why we're talking about humility) when we do so on our own, even if the process isn't easy, it's very sweet. That's why we say Shana Tova U'Metuka, a sweet new year. The Chafetz Chaim once said, Everything is good, but some things are sweet and some things are bitter. When we say something is evil, it's because it's bitter. Of course it's ultimately good, Gam Zu L'Tova. But I don't want it just to be L'Tova. I don't want to have the bitter that's going to get sweet. I want to have the sweet. And it's sweet when you go back to the source and you say, Hashem, I know why it's happening. I know you want me back. I'm gonna come back on my own.
I once an explanation of why we read Maftir Yona on Yom Kippur Mincha. It's because Yona tried to run away from God. Hashem brought a whale. He went under and he came up and he was spit out and the whole story until eventually he goes and does what he has to do.
And the lesson is, You're going to get there anyway. Do it willingly. Hashem wants what's best for us. He's trying to get us there. And everything that happens around us is to humble us, accept His will and go further. That's the Jewish outlook on when things are challenging and why it's happening- ultimately, for humility.