Troubling questions- Chizzuk for emuna

amother

Tue, May 25 2021, 10:27 am

I read something on Shabbos that inspired me, and I would like to share. (I think I read it in The Ami, by Rabbi Moshe Taub. But we threw out the magazine already so I can't check it to make sure I'm getting it right. Feel free to correct me if I'm not repeating it accurately.)

The Torah talks about the story of the mekalel. How did the mekalel- who saw Hashem's miracles like everyone else, lose his emuna? The gemara says it was because he learned that the lechem hapanim was brought as a korban at the end of the week. He was bothered by the fact that we would give Hashem old stale bread. Because of his unresolved questions, he lost faith.

The Lutzker Rav (Rav Zalman Sorotzkin) asks the obvious question: we know that the lechem hapanim miraculously stayed fresh all week. If he had just waited a week, he would have had an answer to his question! But he was impatient. He judged the situation as is, and he came to the wrong conclusion.

So too, ALL questions that we have can be explained. There is an answer for all the questions. It's only a matter of TIME until we see the truth. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes a few years, and sometimes we don't know the answer until we get to olam Haemes.

I also heard today from the Daily Chizzuk by Rabbi David Ashear the same idea, that all questions in emuna have an answer. Sometimes things seem bad for us and we don't see why they are good until much later. The gemara says that one who does a mitzva is not harmed. Yet many times we see people who went to do a mitzva getting harmed or even dying as a result.
For example, Yosef went to look for his brothers in Shechem because he was fulfilling the mitzva of kibbud av. So how could he have gotten harmed? His brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery! The answer is that it was actually the best thing for him and everybody because it led to him becoming viceroy and he was the catalyst for saving the world years later.

So having emuna is all about having patience, trusting that even if it looks bad right now, this is really for my best, and to be Dan lekaf zchus that Hashem has a plan for me. I may not see why it's good now, it may take time, but eventually it will become clear.
It's a matter of TIME.

amother

Amethyst

Tue, May 25 2021, 10:48 am

I went through a tough time in seminary and spoke to a senior instructor who shared some personal struggles. (Very appropriate.) I remember my roommate being stunned at my chutzpah when I told her about the discussion and my reply, which was, thanks. Right now it seems like platitudes but I know that with time I'll get there. I think I was respectful.
Deep truths sound like platitudes. We have to be receptive to the possibility of them resonating, and give it time.

amother

Tue, May 25 2021, 11:02 am

amother [ Amethyst ] wrote:

So true.