Posted on 08/18/24
More Than Just Repair
We have seen how challenges can shake our confidence and hinder growth. In truth, Hashem intends the opposite effect — He orchestrates these challenges to foster our spiritual growth.[1] As the Yalkut Shimoni puts it, “If I had not fallen, I would not have gotten up.”[2] The rise after the fall more than just repairs the fall. It has additional independent value.
Rav Yitzchak Hutner[3] understood this to be the intention of the pasuk “Sheva yipol tzaddik v’kam.”[4] Rebounding from a fall is not just the sign of a tzaddik. It is also how we become one. Falls help us become tzaddikim because they help us grow.
How?
Appreciation
On the most basic level, challenges inspire reflection and appreciation. The need to work hard to regain something lost or return to a previous position deepens our appreciation for what we had and where we were beforehand. This sense of appreciation can be a powerful tool in overcoming challenges.
Struggles also help us appreciate and strengthen our relationship with Hashem. We turn to Hashem and feel His presence more when we face challenges because our vulnerability reminds us of our dependence on Him. When we feel enshrouded in darkness, Hashem’s light seems to shine more brightly.[5]
Many people who suffer through difficult times describe having felt closer to Hashem during that period than at any point before or after. Though no one hopes to suffer, they miss the closeness they felt with Hashem when they did. To use Dovid HaMelech’s formulation, we feel closest to Hashem precisely when we walk through the valley of death.[6]
Strength
Challenging circumstances also make us stronger people. They force us out of our comfort zone and inspire us to dig deeper within ourselves. The Ramban[7] saw this as the goal of the nisyonot (tests) Hashem challenges man with.[8] The goal is not to prove ourselves to Hashem. He, of course, knows whether we can or will pass the nisayon. The test aims to help us realize our potential inner strength, making us stronger and more resilient.
Struggles bring out the best in us much like they do for other living beings and even trees and vegetation. In this way, man resembles the “trees of the field.”[9] Rav Meilech Biderman[10] tells of a tree-lined street in Lakewood that was hit by Hurricane Sandy. The trees on one side of the street were uprooted while the parallel ones remained standing. The only difference between the rows of trees was that the trees on the first side of the street benefited from a custom-made watering system, while the trees on the second side did not. The conveniently available water allowed the first set of trees to survive without needing to forge deep roots. They were thus easily uprooted. In contrast, the trees without easy access to water were forced to strike deep roots. These roots helped them survive the hurricane. Difficult circumstances force us to develop stronger survival skills.
New Opportunities and Abilities
Challenges also inspire us to discover new opportunities and develop new abilities. People often get frustrated when Hashem “moves the cheese”[11] of their lives, but He does so to encourage us to pursue new life paths.
Crises open doors to new opportunities. This is why the Hebrew root that means “break” and “crisis” (shin, bet, reish) also means “sustenance”[12] and “birth.”[13] Upheaval “breaks” the old reality and ushers in new forms of life.
When we rise after a fall, we can reach a higher level than before. The Steipler Gaon[14] takes this point further by asserting that falls and challenges are the only way to achieve higher levels.
Rashi saw the statement of the gemara in Gittin as an example of this phenomenon. The gemara asserts that “A person does not arrive at a (correct) Torah understanding without having first failed.”[15] Rashi[16] explains that failure and the accompanying embarrassment drive us to work harder to determine the correct understanding and halachic decision.
Suffering offers us a growth opportunity. Rav Soloveichik described it this way: “Afflictions come to elevate man, to purify his spirit and sanctify him, to cleanse his mind and refine it from the chaff of superficiality and the dross of crudeness; to ennoble his soul and expand his horizons… Woe to the sufferer if the flame of affliction does not heat his soul and his suffering does not ignite the fire of God within him! When pain wanders through the world as sealed forces to no end, a great accusation rises against the man who wastes his suffering.”[17] Suffering is an opportunity we mustn’t waste.
Riding As Opposed to Being Ridden
Challenges can disillusion and debilitate, but they can also inspire and embolden. Their impact hinges upon our reaction to them.
The Ibn Ezra lived a life full of challenges, misfortune, and disappointment. He found making a living particularly difficult — to the point that he wrote about himself: “If I made candles, the sun would never set; if I made shrouds, people would never die.” Despite these circumstances, he did not allow his misfortune to get the better of him. He responded by remarking that some people allow their troubles to “ride them down” while others ride upon their problems. Instead of allowing our struggles to cause despair, we should transcend them and grow from the process.
May our study of challenges inspire us to respond appropriately to the challenges we face throughout our lives.
Rav Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA. His new book, Essentials of Judaism, can be purchased at rabbireuventaragin.com.
[1] In addition to aiding our growth, Rav Hutner (Letters and Writings, 128) explains that our struggle to succeed also shows the depth of our commitment to our goals. We show that our Avodat Hashem is not just by rote and when convenient.
[2] Tehillim 5:628 paraphrasing Michah (7:8). The medrash translates the word “ki” in the pasuk as “because.”
See Shem MiShmuel (Noach 5674) who explains that the potential rise is already present within the fall itself.
[3] Letters and Writings, 128.
[4] Mishlei 24:16.
[5] Medrash Tehillim 5 and Yalkut Shimoni (Tehillim 5:628) in explanation of Michah 7:8. This is the deeper meaning behind the Baal Haturim’s (Shemot 20:18) comment that the word “arafel (fog)” has the same gematria as the word “shechinah.” Sometimes we see Hashem’s presence most clearly when we are engulfed by fog. See also Likutei Moharan (Kamma 115).
[6] Tehillim 23:4. It is noteworthy that pasuk daled is the first time the mizmor addresses Hashem in second person. Before walking in the valley of death (pesukim 1–3), God is only felt in third person.
[7] Bereishit 22:1. See also Moreh Nevuchim 3:24 and Derashot HaRan who explain that nisyonot are for the benefit of the one being tested or for others who can be inspired by him passing the test.
[8] See Bereishit 22:1 and Avot 5:3 for the source of the idea of nisyonot. The Ramchal (Mesilat Yesharim 1 and Derech Hashem 2:3) saw passing these nisyonot as a central part of our mission in this world.
For more on nisyonot, see Bereishit Rabbah 55:1-2.
[9] See Devarim 20:19.
[10] Be’er Haparshah, Naso 5782.
[11] Based on the book Who Moved My Cheese, the cheese is a metaphor for what people seek in life (a job, ,success, relationships, etc.).
[12] Bereishit 42:1,2,19.
[13] Yeshayahu 37:3.
We find similar associations in other ancient languages. For example, the Chinese word for "crisis” and “opportunity" is wēijī (危机), which is made up of two characters: wēi (危) and jī (机).
[14] Eitzot V’hadrachot, Aliyot V’yeridot pg. 76.
[15] Gittin 43a.
[16] Rashi, D”H V’hamichshalah.
[17] Kol Dodi Dofek, pg. 67–70.