“See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse” (Devarim 11:26).
The Medrash Rabbah, citing Eichah 3:38, says that neither good nor evil emanate from Hashem. Rather, bad comes on its own to those who do evil, and good comes on its own to those who do good.
Hashem created the world for Bnei Yisrael to fulfill the Torah. Thus, Rav Shach says, He implanted in creation a mechanism by which man brings bad upon himself when he sins and good upon himself when he acts properly. Our sages tell us, “It is not the scorpion that kills but sin that kills” (Berachos 33a).
The Torah states, “And Hashem saw all that He had created and it was very good” (Bereishis 1:31). “Very good,” says the Medrash, refers to death. Our sages teach us that death itself is not negative. A person who has lived his life according to the dictates of the Torah will sit in Gan Eden with a crown on his head, enjoying the light of the Divine Presence, after he passes away.
Death is only a punishment for a person who has committed evil, G-d forbid. Such a person loses the wherewithal to rectify what he has done wrong in this world once he dies. As the Yerushalmi (Berachos) says, “As long as a man is alive, he has hope.” Even in his last moments on earth, a person can do proper teshuvah.
Thus, man determines his own fate. If he fulfills the will of his creator, “he will rejoice on the last day” (Mishlei 31:25). The Malbim explains that he will rejoice when he realizes the great merits he has accrued living his life properly and will reap the fruits of his deeds.
If a person withstands his challenges in life and realizes they are, in fact, good for him, he can ascend to very high spiritual levels. The Sefer Mekor Chaim cites the Baal Shem Tov, who asks: Why does a person have experiences that appear to be bad? He explains that there are two types of goodness. One is simple good, which is apparent to all. And the other is hidden good – good that is perceived as bad because it’s disguised.
The truth is, though, that no bad emanates from Hashem. If a person leads a meritorious life, the good is revealed. If he doesn’t, the good is camouflaged and appears to be bad.
If a person, however, works on his emunah and believes that whatever happens to him is really good – even if he doesn’t understand why yet – the true good will be revealed in the merit of his emunah. When a person realizes that what appears to be a negative experience is designed for his own growth and development – when he does teshuvah and confesses his sins – his emunah and bitachon have the power to change midas hadin to midas harachamim.
The Talmud (Taanis 21a) relates that R’ Nachum Ish Gam Zu always used to say that everything Hashem does is for the good. Even if something seemed bad, R’ Nachum would say, “This too is for the good” and ultimately became known as “Ish Gam Zu” as a result.
His simple emunah often brought about miracles, and he was therefore sent by the leaders of the Jewish people to appease the Roman emperor so that he wouldn’t issue harsh decrees against the Jews.
R’ Nachum was given a chest full of jewels and pearls to present to the emperor as a gift. On the way, he stayed at an inn where the contents of the chest were stolen and replaced with earth – unbeknownst to R’ Nachum. When he discovered what happened, he said simply, “This too is for the good.”
When he appeared before the emperor, he gave him the chest. The emperor opened it and was furious when he saw what it contained. He sentenced R’ Nachum to death, but R’ Nachum only said, “This too is for the good.”
Eliyahu HaNavi then appeared to the emperor as one of his advisors and suggested that perhaps the earth in the chest was earth Avraham Avinu had used in his battle against the five kings – earth that turned into swords and arrows once thrown. The emperor immediately ordered the earth to be used against an enemy he had until then been unable to conquer, and it worked as Eliyahu HaNavi had indicate it would. He was triumphant.
The emperor subsequently ordered his royal treasurer to fill R’ Nachum’s chest with precious stones, and he was sent off with great honor. Because of Nachum Ish Gam Zu’s intractable emunah in the goodness of Hashem, what appeared to be unbelievably bad turned out to be enormously good.
