THIS TOO IS FOR THE BEST THIS TOO IS FOR THE BEST Approaching Trials and Tribulations from a Torah Perspective RABBI YERACHMIEL MOSKOFF לזכרון עולם בהיכל ה' נשמת אדוני אבי רבי נח משה בן רבי יצחק אלחנן הכהן זצ"ל - מלץ .Mosaica Press, Inc © 2013 by Mosaica Press נאמן בדרכיו ומעשיו Edited by Doron Kornbluth Typeset and designed by Rayzel Broyde נוח לשמים ונוח לבריות All rights reserved ISBN 978-1-937-88705-6 ISBN-10: 1-937-88705-7 ותמיד צהלתו על פניו ,No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from both the copyright השפיע במדות אלו לכל מי שהכירו .holder and the publisher יהי זכרו ברוך :Published and distributed by Mosaica Press, Inc. נלב"ע ט"ז שבט תשס"ב www.mosaicapress.com [email protected] הונצח ע"י בנו הלל שליט"א Printed in Israel ויה"ר שיזכה להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה מתוך הרחבת הדעת ומנוחת הנפש תנצב"ה In Loving Memory of Mordechai and Dutzi Mezei I wish to dedicate my first English sefer to ,my dear parents לעילוי נשמת מרדכי בן משה צבי הלוי דבורה בת אליעזר הכהן Devorah bas Eliezer (HaKohen) was a true Akeres Habayis. She loved Franklin and Sheila her children and grandchildren with all her heart. The beautiful homes and families that her children and grandchildren have built is a testament to the incredible woman that she was. Moskoff Mordechai ben Moshe Tzvi (HaLevi) was truly an Ish Gam Zu L’Tova. His Emunah in Hashem was great. The trials and tribula- Their support and encouragement in all of my tions of his life were used as a vehicle to strengthen his relationship projects mean so much. They have been, and with Hashem. When once asked how he remained so steadfast in his continue to be, a tremendous positive influence on Yiddishkeit all these years, he answered, “Obviously because of the me. I can never thank them enough for all they have Holocaust. How could you not see Hashem at that time?” The chal- done and for always being there for me. lenges of life were met with the calm awareness that it was all part of Hashem’s plan. He radiated warmth and love to his children and grandchildren, never wasting time to focus on the negative. He gave May Hashem give them all of the blessings await- us his smile and his calm wisdom. His legacy of a family that continu- ing generous and kindhearted people. They should ally grows in their Torah observance and Emunah is a testament to always have much nachas from all of their offspring his unyielding belief that Hashem guides everything, and that we will and merit the best of this world and the next. eventually see that everything is truly for the good. Amen. DediCated by their Children, GrandChildren and Great-grandChildren Dedicated to my dear brother R’ YeRACHMIEL on the occasion of his new book. May you go from chayel to chayel, and continue to be a living example of all that is written within! LOVE, HirsChel Y. MoskoFF For the speedy recovery of Chaya Batya bas Chana May Hashem Yisborach grant her a complete recovery, healing of body & soul, among all the sick of our nation. Contents Foreword ...............................................................................17 Acknowledgments .................................................................29 Preface ...................................................................................31 What are “Yissurim?” ............................................... 37 Types of Yissurim ..................................................................37 Reasons for Yissurim ................................................ 41 1. Yissurim out of love .........................................................42 2. Yissurim as a test ..............................................................45 3. Yissurim of Divine Vengeance ..........................................49 4. Yissurim inspire a person to repent ..................................50 5. Yissurim as atonement ......................................................52 Yissurim are custom-tailored ................................................54 Atonement is conditional ......................................................58 6. Yissurim as liability for others ..........................................59 7. Yissurim to prepare for the Messianic Era ........................61 Identifying Messianic Era suffering ......................................65 8. Suffering due to negligence ...............................................67 16 This Too Is For The Best Accepting Yissurim ................................................... 70 The secret of rejoicing over Yissurim ....................................71 Accepting the Divine Judgment ............................................73 Rejecting the Divine Judgment.............................................75 Attributing adversities to coincidence ..................................76 Doubting Divine Justice .......................................................77 Greatness of Yissurim ............................................... 81 Practical Tips ............................................................ 98 Rejoicing over Yissurim ........................................... 116 Foreword Suffering comes a little at a time .........................................123 Substitutes for Yissurim .......................................... 132 Repenting applies also to poor habits ..................................148 By Rabbi Zev Leff Ascertaining the quality of our repentance .........................149 Morah D’asra of Moshav Matityahu, Israel Other benefits of repentance ...............................................150 A text for repentance ...........................................................151 he Midrash1 relates that Moshe Rabbeinu said to Hash- Physical efforts (Hishtadlus)................................................158 em, “I sinned with the word ‘az’, -then, when I complained Approaching a Friend who is Suffering ..................... 183 ‘mei’az basi el Pharaoh’ — [I had complained that] from then, the time I came to Pharaoh, things had only become Judge him favorably .............................................................185 worse for the Jewish People. I will thus correct my sin with the word To Summarize .......................................................... 197 ‘az’,” as it says2 “az yashir Moshe” — then Moshe sang” (after the splitting of the Red Sea). Financial Problems .................................................. 206 There are two difficulties in understanding this Midrash. Firstly, if we assume that Moshe Rabbeinu sinned by complaining, The Death of a Child ................................................. 214 why is he not also taken to task for his complaints mentioned just one sentence earlier,3 “why have You done bad things to these people?” 1 Shemos Rabbah 23:3. 2 Shemos 15:1. 3 Shemos 5:22. 18 This Too Is For The Best Foreword 19 Secondly, when Moshe sang, he never mentioned the word ‘az’, “We established many marketplaces, built many bathhouses and rather it is the Torah which uses the word when narrating what Moshe amassed much gold and silver, all so that the Jewish People could oc- did – if so, how did Moshe in effect correct his sin? cupy themselves with Torah.” Hashem will respond: “Fools. The mar- To explain, we may begin with the Gemara.4 Moshe Rabbeinu ketplaces you established were for immoral purposes. The bathhouses asked Hashem: “Ribbono shel Olam, why do some tzaddikim pros- you built were for your own enjoyment. The gold and silver is Mine, as per and some suffer? Why do some wicked people prosper and it says, “Mine is the gold and Mine is the silver, says Hashem.” some suffer?” The Brisker Rav raises some questions on this Gemara. How could At first glance, Moshe’s questions seem puzzling. Of course, we the Romans have the audacity to lie so preposterously, claiming that ev- understand that he was troubled by why tzaddikim suffer and why erything they did was to enable the Jews to learn Torah? Nothing could the wicked prosper. But why was he also troubled about why the tzad- be further from the truth! Furthermore, if they lied, why does Hashem dikim prosper and why the wicked suffer? Isn’t this the way it should call them ‘fools’ and not ‘liars’? be? After all, the concept of reward and punishment is one of the basic Perhaps we can find the answer in the works of the Chovos Ha- tenets of our faith. Levovos. In Sha’ar HaBitachon he writes that although we have free Perhaps we can explain Moshe Rabbeinu’s questions in the follow- will, we cannot guarantee that we can bring our choices and plans to ing manner. The Telzer Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch,5 fruition. For example, a benefactor