The Benefit of Suffering: Various Reasons for Bringing Trials in This World - Part 3

Suffering as Atonement for the Generation

Sometimes Hashem brings suffering upon a righteous person to atone for the sins of his generation, as Ramchal writes (Derech Hashem 2:3): "According to this principle, it is decreed that troubles and suffering may come upon a righteous person as atonement for his generation. It is the righteous person's duty to accept with love the suffering that comes to him for his generation's benefit, just as he would accept with love suffering that was appropriate for himself. Through this deed, he benefits his generation by atoning for it, and he himself is greatly elevated, becoming one of the leaders in the assembly of the World to Come.

Below are verses from Isaiah chapter 53, speaking about the righteous person who suffers for the sins of his generation, and alluding to his tremendous reward:

"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of Hashem been revealed?... A man of pains and acquainted with disease, as one from whom men hide their face; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our diseases and carried our pains, yet we considered him stricken, smitten by Hashem, and afflicted. But he was wounded because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his wounds we were healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and Hashem has inflicted upon him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb led to slaughter, and like a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth... Although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased Hashem to crush him by disease, when you make his soul a guilt offering, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the desire of Hashem shall prosper in his hand. From the labor of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge My righteous servant shall justify many, as he bears their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Suffering for Future Benefit

"I will thank You for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation" (Psalms 118:21)

Sometimes Hashem sends suffering to a person to save him from more severe suffering that was about to come upon him, or to prepare him to receive a great salvation in the future.

In Tractate Niddah (page 31), Rav Yosef expounded: "I thank You, Hashem, though You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me." What is this verse speaking about? About two men who set out for business. Along the way, one of them got a thorn in his foot and began cursing and blaspheming because he was prevented from continuing his journey by ship. Days later, he heard that his friend's ship had sunk at sea, so he began to give thanks and praise. Thus it is written: "Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me."

We witness many stories where a small mishap or certain pain that came to a person saved him from great danger. Sometimes this becomes known to the person immediately, sometimes after a while, and sometimes it is never known to him, as the Gemara continues there and says: "Even the one who experiences the miracle does not recognize his miracle."

Regarding this matter, Ramchal wrote (Da'at Tevunot, section 146): "In truth, Hashem never despises the work of His hands, God forbid, and never abandons or forsakes the world. Rather, at times when it appears as if the world is abandoned by Him, the truth is actually the opposite—He is preparing goodness for His world, and His wonders and thoughts are always, all day long, only for the repair of the world and not for its corruption. But He conceals His counsel with great concealment, and then the world appears as if abandoned, and people suffer the punishments of their sins."

As an example, Ramchal brings what happened with Jacob: After many years of pain and anguish over the disappearance of his beloved son Joseph, Jacob's sons go down to Egypt to buy food [due to the famine that struck the land], and the king of Egypt insistently demands that they bring their youngest brother Benjamin with them the next time. He even takes Simeon as a hostage to ensure this. Jacob refuses to send Benjamin, so for a long time the sons refrain from going back to Egypt. But when the famine becomes very severe, the brothers try again to approach Jacob to agree to let them take Benjamin, and Jacob says with great pain: "Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?!"

The Sages say about this (Bereishit Rabbah 91:10): Jacob our father never said anything meaningless, except here. Hashem said: I am working to make his son rule in Egypt, and he says, "Why did you treat me so badly"? This is as it is written: "My way is hidden from Hashem."

Ramchal explains that all the time Jacob was in pain over Joseph's absence, Hashem was only rolling events to make Joseph rule and to revive Jacob in tranquility. "But because it was a deep plan, Jacob had to endure pain. And this is a model that shows that for any elevation Hashem wants to give to a person or to the world, during the time when the good is being prepared but hasn't yet arrived, it comes only through a deep hidden plan, and therefore pain will come to him first. This is like what the Sages said (Berachot 5a): Three good gifts were given to Israel, and all of them were given only through suffering: Torah, the Land of Israel, and the World to Come."

With these words, Joseph also comforts his brothers when they cry before him and ask for his forgiveness for selling him: "You intended to harm me, but Hashem intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives... Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." (Genesis 50:20-21)

Joseph comforts his brothers with the fact that while it seemed that selling him was a bad and difficult thing, "Hashem intended it for good." Everything was part of the Creator's plan to make him rule over Egypt and thereby bring salvation to Jacob and his sons, as the Gemara says (Shabbat 89b): Jacob our father should have gone down to Egypt in iron chains [since the descent to Egypt was by decree of exile, and Jacob should have gone down like exiles captured from their land (Rashi)], but his merit caused him to go down to Egypt with royal honor, because his son Joseph was ruling over Egypt.

This is similar to a tailor who takes scissors and cuts expensive fabric. Someone watching from the side who doesn't understand might interpret the tailor's actions as destruction and spoilage, but someone who understands knows that this is precisely how a glorious garment can be made from the fabric. This is how Hashem weaves His works, and sometimes at first it looks, God forbid, like destruction or spoilage, but in fact, when the picture is completed, we will understand that "Hashem intended it for good."

In the book "Sha'ar Bat Rabbim," it is stated that when a person, God forbid, complains about Hashem's actions, he is like a person who ordered a garment from a tailor, but upon seeing the tailor cutting and "destroying" his fabric, he becomes angry and doesn't allow him to continue his work. What comes of this? He is left with pitiful pieces of fabric, without any benefit. This could be the fate of those who complain about Hashem's guidance, who rage and complain about the evil that befalls them. Hashem will leave them to themselves and not complete His work, and they end up receiving the bad parts and missing out on the good. In contrast, one who trusts the tailor and waits patiently will end up with a properly made, beautiful garment. Similarly, a person who accepts hardship with trust in Hashem and with confidence that Hashem is doing only what is good for him, then Hashem will desire to complete what He began to do and will also bring the good He intended to bring.

In conclusion, for any trouble that may come, a person should remind himself that what now appears bad and bitter is only like the cutting of the fabric, which is preparation for the good that will follow. Therefore, even if he doesn't currently understand what benefit will come from the trouble affecting him, he should believe with complete faith that good will ultimately come, and in this he will find relief and healing for his brokenness and will accept what has been decreed upon him with joy.