Test of Faith: Why Receive Money That Will Be Stolen from Me Later?!

Similarly, there was another incident involving one of my lecture listeners who told me that more than a thousand dollars were stolen from his pocket. I replied, "Consider it, if the money was stolen from you, it must not be meant for you. Otherwise, who could have taken it from you?"

He replied, "I accept that this money is not intended for me, yet I have a question. Why was this money, which was not meant for me from the start, given to me? Why did it come to my hands initially, only for me to believe it's mine and then have it stolen from me? Wouldn't it have been better, and as evidenced at the end, if this money never reached me at all? By receiving it, I suffered in vain!"

I told him, as mentioned, "Hashem tests the righteous. The money came to you, even though it wasn't destined for you and was meant to be stolen later, to test your faith. If you feel sorrow and believe the money was yours, thinking you could have paid this or that bill with it, or cleared a debt with it, wondering why you didn't guard it better... this indicates your faith is still lacking. However, if you truthfully feel your faith and understand that there's no reason to feel sad—since this money was never really yours, as if it were truly meant for you, you would have enjoyed it—and view this money as a temporary deposit until its rightful owner comes to claim it, this signifies your faith is genuine and true."

Even if you were angry and upset upon discovering the theft, you are still being tested by how soon you recover from your anger and align your perspective with faith. The test isn't just at that moment alone, as it's definitely challenging to accept it with love and faith right away, as is the case with most people. However, failing the test doesn't mean complete failure, for you might still score 90% or 80%, etc., depending on how swiftly you overcome the misfortune and return to a state of calm through faith, which settles the mind and leads to tranquility and peace.

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But in the future, it will be revealed to all that everything is from Hashem, and all the sufferings, evils, bitter exiles, and concealments are "I am I," as no existence is outside Hashem. In this knowledge, all evil-doers will disperse, and complete evil will vanish as it has no existence, and enough for believers waiting for salvation—anticipate salvation. (Zohar Chai Vol. 1, Page 86)

This article is taken from the book "Living in Faith". To purchase Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Lugasi's book click here.