When Darkness Becomes Light: How Life’s Hardships Can Lead to Hidden Blessings

Most of us can recall a moment when darkness itself became the source of light. We naturally think that health is good and illness is bad, but if you ask someone who caught a cold, missed his regular bus to work, and thereby escaped a terrorist attack, he’ll assure you that the illness was actually a blessing.

During World War I, some people deliberately cut off their own fingers so they wouldn’t be drafted into the army where they would either face death on the battlefield or be forced to desecrate Shabbat and eat non-kosher food. For them, it was better to live with a disability than to lose both body and soul.

A story is told about Napoleon, who once tried to conquer a heavily fortified city. To test the morale of its citizens and see if the time was ripe for an attack, he disguised himself as a commoner and entered the city with one of his officers. They sat in a tavern, hoping to overhear the conversations of the locals. Suddenly, someone recognized him and cried out: That’s Napoleon! The room fell silent and all eyes turned toward him. At that moment, the officer deliberately spilled his wine, then slapped Napoleon across the face, shouting: You fool! Look what you’ve done! The people exchanged glances and said, No, that can’t be Napoleon. Who would dare strike the emperor? Clearly, he’s just a servant. After they returned safely to camp, the officer fell at Napoleon’s feet, begging forgiveness. But Napoleon lifted him up and said: Your slap saved my life. From now on, you are my deputy.

The Torah offers a similar lesson. The Ohr HaChaim asks: How could Joseph have been sold into slavery in Egypt while on an errand to fulfill his father’s command? Doesn’t the principle teach us that “those on a mission to do a mitzvah are not harmed”? He answers that harm that leads to a greater good is not truly harm. Joseph’s sale into slavery ultimately raised him to become viceroy of Egypt and the savior of his family.

A modern-day story echoes this truth. A large family from Safed, struggling financially, finally went on their first-ever vacation. They rented a van to attend a relative’s celebration. On the way, the van skidded and rolled off the road. The children escaped with only minor injuries, but the father suffered a serious head wound and was rushed into emergency brain surgery. Hours later, the surgeon emerged and told the anxious mother: You’ve experienced a great miracle!

The mother, bewildered, asked: A miracle? We went on vacation and ended up in the hospital. How can this be a miracle? The doctor explained: The scans revealed a brain tumor that had already begun to spread. Because of the accident, we caught it in time. Without this discovery, your husband would not have lived another two weeks.

We often misjudge reality. What seems bad may be the very thing that saves us, and what seems good, may in the long run harm us. We say “the wicked prosper”, but do we really know if their lives are truly good?

We Don’t Always Know What’s Good for Us

A lazy child may feel happy skipping school, chasing bugs and playing outside all day, but the adults around him know that he will grow up uneducated and unprepared for life.

A teenager may feel chocolate boosts her mood and helps her study, but years later she may develop diabetes from overindulgence. Another teenager who suffers stomach pains and is forced by her doctor to cut out sugar may think her life is ruined, but decades later she discovers she’s healthier and stronger than her peers.

Likewise, a woman who complains about climbing four flights of stairs every day without an elevator may be frustrated now, but in her sixties she enjoys strong muscles, healthy lungs, and youthful vitality because of that very effort.

We are often like children whose perspective is narrow and incomplete. Their limited vision blinds them to the larger picture. Even as adults, our intellect is finite, and we cannot fully grasp Divine justice with human logic alone.