Why Do I Face Trials and Challenges in Life? 5 Points to Consider

"It pains me to hear him cry"

Everyone knows the great sensitivity every mother feels when she hears her baby crying. Is this an act or reality?

As with many aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, the reason is hormonal: the oxytocin level is higher in the bodies of mothers who have given birth. Oxytocin is a hormone that fosters social bonding in both men and women. For new mothers, it reduces anxiety and increases empathy when they hear their baby cry.

Studies show that the moment a mother hears a cry, her brain releases oxytocin, which causes her discomfort.

The Creator, in His mercy, knew that if a baby's cry were pleasant like music, everyone would melt at the sound while the poor infant continued to suffer from hunger without anyone noticing. What did the Creator do? He implanted a small chip in the mother's brain that causes her unrest every time she hears her baby's cry, prompting her to help quickly...

By the way, there's another hormone, call it the "reward hormone." The brain apparently knows how to reward the mother for all her hard work. It increases the release of internal opioids, which are opium-like hormones. These opioids ensure the mother's selfish pleasure when she sees her baby smiling or satisfied. There's a clear biological role in this: euphoria motivates the mother to continue caring for the baby so she will feel happiness once again. This is how the Creator ensures that the mother continues to care for her child.

And I ask, who "manufactured" the oxytocin? Who created in our bodies the chemical composition that is so essential in bonding the mother to her newborn? Who is the genius that created the perfect mix of chemicals that preserve the life of the helpless infant?

Beating Nonstop

The heart—a masterpiece the size of a fist—constantly contracts and beats over 2.5 billion times during a person's 70-year lifespan. Every minute the heart sends five liters of blood to every cell in the body! In 70 years, 220 million liters pass through it!

There are doctors who operate on a person and replace the heart valves with silicone devices, a hard, man-made material. Note that these artificial valves change shape within a few years, while the delicate, resilient tissues of a healthy heart function properly for a lifetime. What is this miraculous organ "someone" created and implanted in us, in the same precise location in every human— in the chest?!

(Photo: shutterstock)

Indeed, even during exertion, the heart works at an extremely fast pace, but what's amazing is the heart never takes a break for rest or recovery!

Even leading doctors haven't yet managed to create a single heart that serves as a suitable replacement for the human heart, despite all the equipment they have. The heart is designed with supreme ingenuity; it's a creation that no human hand played a part in or contributed anything to! We are fortunate to receive the heart as a free "gift" in our bodies.

By observing the human body, one can understand that it involves a superhuman creator with infinite genius and immense power...

Sayeret Matkal

Many stand puzzled with the question: Why do I face so many challenges like financial difficulties or finding a partner, while my friend married early, has a car, and plenty of money? Why does the Creator test only me with these trials?

We can answer this with a parable: When a customer comes to a pot shop, the seller taps on the sturdy pots to show their strength. He won't tap on the weak one as it would break.

Friends, Hashem gives trials to high souls. For the weaker, everything will go more smoothly because they simply won't withstand the trial. So if spiritually we're in the Sayeret Matkal, undergoing somewhat more rigorous training, that's a huge compliment from Hashem!

(Photo: shutterstock)

This world is essentially a training camp that prepares and trains our soul to cleave to Hashem. This world is not an end in itself but a means to prepare us for the afterlife. All the trials, challenges, and difficulties we encounter in our lives are the "harsh camp conditions" that come to forge and strengthen us, to prepare our soul for elevated and noble spiritual life.

By overcoming the challenges of this world, the soul can, upon reaching the next world, fulfill its purpose—to enjoy and take pleasure in a supreme manner beyond our comprehension.

The Scariest Animal in the World!

I recently visited a zoo. I encountered a variety of animals from all species and types. But there's one animal that created in me an aversion, a fear beyond normal, a fear whose source was unclear (and no, I don't have childhood trauma from this animal). Moreover, I'm assuming that if I were to conduct a large survey and ask, "Which animal creates the greatest aversion in you?" the vast majority would give the same answer.

What, then, is the animal I'm talking about? The snake...

Naturally, people are alarmed by snakes, even the smallest, non-venomous ones. As soon as a person sees a snake, they become frantic with fear. What's so frightening about these creatures?

We cannot ignore the "historical backdrop" between us and the snake. The unexplained aversion we feel toward it reinforces in my eyes the truth of the Torah. No other animal causes as much aversion and repulsion as the snake. Even men feel repulsed by it. Why? Not by accident! This is a kind of struggle between man and snake since the ancient serpent.

(Photo: shutterstock)

Friends, mankind has been wary of snakes since the days of Adamto this very day. After the sin of Adam, the Creator said to the snake that there will always be enmity between it and man: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers... (Genesis 3:15).

How can the "writer of the Torah" declare that enmity will persist between the snake and man forever, guaranteeing it for generations, and even planting this disdain in all our hearts? Only the "writer of the Torah" who is the Creator of man can commit to this for eternity.

Near-Death Experience

There are people who recount clearly and confidently an experience of the soul leaving the body—call it a "near-death experience," call it "clinical death"—people who recount an out-of-body experience without doubting the reality of the experience itself. On the other hand, they continue to cling to atheism without feeling a need to deeply investigate the phenomenon...

One might agree with them, or disagree, but the fact that—on one hand, the person acknowledges the reality of the experience, and on the other, dismisses the need to explore further—indicates that we undoubtedly have free choice.

I don't expect an atheist, after experiencing clinical death and discovering his soul, to run to the nearest store to buy a tzitzit... but I would expect an intelligent person to ask, to delve and explore to the extent possible, whatever the conclusions might be. But when the intellectual, inquisitive, and skeptical man witnesses a miracle before his eyes and suddenly feigns ignorance in his atheist belief, turning into a son who doesn't even know how to ask...

Conclusion? Anyone who refuses to believe in the Creator, even in the face of thousands of witnesses and proofs, will deny everything...