Why Do We Need All These Crises?!

King David testifies about himself in Psalms (42:8) "All your waves and breakers have swept over me" –

meaning all the crises in the world passed over King David, which is why for every trouble faced by a Jew, they immediately read Psalms. In Psalms, King David included all the requests a person might need in this world, all because he himself went through all of life's crises.

In my youth, I thought to myself, "The crises I'm experiencing are to atone for my sins, and once they're over, I'll return to a normal routine."

I always looked at the great Torah scholars, who persist day and night in the holy Torah, filled with true faith in the Creator and evident joy on their faces. I thought to myself how lucky they are that they don't go through crises like I do, and their lives seem so pleasant.

This was also the case with the stories of the righteous that I read in my youth, it seemed as if even from their mother's womb they were born with a great desire to serve Hashem, praying, studying Torah, and doing acts of kindness. And Rabbi So-and-so already knew the entire Talmud by heart at age twelve, while I sometimes feel I lack the desire to pray or study well.

I consoled myself, thinking perhaps I wouldn't amount to anything special since all those righteous ones were perfectly humble, while I was still far from it, and in other bad traits that made me feel so distant from perfection. Where am I, and where are they?

Later, I read a story about one of the great sages of the previous generation, who was a tremendous scholar and no less righteous, who had days when he woke up in the morning and didn't feel like opening the Talmud. This story greatly strengthened me.

"Even he had days like I do, days without the desire to serve Hashem, so it's probably normal" - I told myself.

"If he went through such crises and overcame them and forged ahead, then with Hashem's help, I too can overcome the crises" - I thought.

"Crises and difficulties," dear friends! They are an unparalleled tool for spiritual and overall growth, as Solomon wisely said (Proverbs 24:16) "The righteous fall seven times and rise up again" –

The simple explanation of this verse: It happens that a righteous person can fall even seven times, but in the end, he rises again.

However, I heard an additional explanation that gave me immense strength:

"To reach the level of a righteous person, one must fall seven times – and rise."

To prove our faithfulness to Hashem, it's insufficient to prove it through material and spiritual abundance, for that is straightforward if every day the Creator smiles at you and gives you health, freshness, excellent children, an exemplary spouse, and money flows abundantly. Of course, you will love Him and say every day "Blessed be His name." But what if suddenly the money stops coming, health declines, and children no longer listen? Will you still say "Blessed be the name of the Creator" then?

The Test of Faith

During crises and difficulties, that is where a person is measured by Hashem, if they lift their eyes to the heavens and accept His decree with submission, then that is the true proof of our sincere and simple faith in Hashem. And if we doubt His goodness even for a moment, then the crisis itself will be a reason for the Creator to increase our reward in this world and the world to come.

Again I return to my childhood - forgive me, reader, for writing many stories about my life, but after much thought I told myself that perhaps I will merit and strengthen one Jew with these tales, and that will be my reward - in my childhood, extreme poverty prevailed in our home. I remember how five children slept together with our mother in the only room in our house, and clothes and shoes we always received as leftovers from neighbors, and money was not to be found in my pocket.

I used to talk to the Creator, and I would always say to Him, "Why was I born into a poor family? Couldn't you bring me into another family with a big beautiful house and even a car?

From the dawn of my youth, I was accustomed to basic and simple food, and luxuries I hardly knew. I remember the hard feeling that accompanied me in my childhood days. Of course, I didn't understand the Creator's ways, why this hardship was good for me, as I hardly knew Him.

Later, after I got married and sat in the study hall to toil in the Torah, poverty returned to my home. Although I wasn't starving for bread, we didn't finish the month.

So we went from charity to charity, one loan following another, as a result of the situation we had to greatly constraint our expenses.

Many of my fellow yeshiva colleagues also went through financial difficulties, and as a result, left the study benches to provide for their homes, while I, accustomed to constraint, didn't break, and knew in my heart "Hashem's salvation is like the blink of an eye."

And when a dear friend heard about my situation, he offered me to work for him as a children's driver. I insisted, "I prefer to suffer with meager bread and pressured water, the main thing is to remain in Hashem's house all the days of my life."

The book 'My Heart Will Rejoice in Your Salvation' is available in select shops and in Hidabroot Shops.