There’s a very famous story that, I don’t know, Weinberg told many years ago. There was an older guy who was one of those people who believed that everything Hashem does is good. When something good happened, someone would say, “Wow, look what happened to you!” He would ask, “How do you know it’s good?” When something bad happened, someone would say, “Oh, I feel so bad for you.” He would ask, “Why do you feel so bad? Maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe it’s good.” You understand? When something is good, maybe it’s not so good; when something is bad, maybe it’s not so bad. It was back and forth. You know those guys? You can understand, right?
It’s a famous story. It’s a true story. Many years ago, there was an older man, and this guy was the guy. This was the guy. When something good would happen, maybe it’s not so good. When something bad would happen, maybe it’s not so bad. That’s the guy. Anyway, it was like this: he had a horse. Back then, they didn’t have—what? They had a horse? He had a horse. One day in the city, there were people. In the town, in the neighborhood, they saw his horse start running out of his barn, right? They went to him and said, “Oh, condolences for your horse.” Someone said, “I feel so bad.” He said, “Maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe it’s not so bad.” They said, “What do you mean? How can it be not so bad? You lost your horse. How can it be not so bad?” He said, “Maybe it’s not so bad.”
Anyway, the horse ends up going to the forest. What happens? Eventually, the horse gets hungry and meets his friends in the forest. Now he knows that he needs food. So what does he do? Not only does he come back, but he brings his friends from the forest toward this guy. Now this guy has an extra four horses. He puts them in the barn. He has four horses. They say, “Wow, you’re right. It wasn’t so bad. This is great. This is so good.” He says, “Maybe it’s not so good.” They say, “What do you mean? How can it be not good? You have four horses.” He says, “Maybe it’s not so good.”
Anyway, his son was 18. He comes back home and sees all these horses. He was a little bit mischievous. He didn’t want to take his father’s horse, but he said, “I’m going to take another horse.” He starts going horseback riding. They hear a boom, like something fell. He falls off the horse and breaks both his legs. They bring him back, put him in the house, and put him in a cast. He has two casts on his legs. They say, “Oh, you’re right. We finally see it wasn’t so good. You had extra horses because your son took the extra horse. You’re right. It wasn’t so good. You see, it’s bad. Your son—I feel so bad for your son.” He says, “Maybe it’s not so bad.” They ask, “What’s going on? Maybe it’s not so bad?” He says, “What do you mean? How can it be not so bad? What do you mean?”
Fast forward a month later. Tsar Nicholas, you know, the Tsar, was going around the town. One of the criteria was that anyone who was 18 to 21 years old had to go to battle. They went from house to house with the general, with papers. They knew where you lived. They knocked on his door and saw his son with two casts on his legs. “What happened to you? We have you registered. You’re registered.” He said he broke both his legs. They didn’t take him. They didn’t give him an army. And he said that anyone who was in the battalion that was taken with Tsar Nicholas—in that moment, they all died. His son got saved. Maybe it’s not that bad. Yeah, you know what’s going on?
So in life, the Pasuk (verse) says: What does that mean? What does it say? It says, “What’s that mean? Hashem. Give the benefit of the doubt.” When something happens, Hashem gives the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, it’s good. How do you know it’s bad? How do you know? It’s the best thing. You think what’s good is good and what’s bad is bad. You don’t know anything. You don’t know anything. You have to know that everything Hashem does is good. Have a great Shabbat.