Q:
Why did Hashem create certain children with mental retardation and other blemishes?
A:
And the answer is, why did Hashem create bees that sting? And why did He create snakes that have venom?
The answer is everything in the world is purposeful. כל מה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו לא בראו אלא לכבודו – Everything declares the glory of Hashem (Avos 6:11).
Now if we didn’t have subnormal children, then the people who have normal children would be entirely unaware of their happiness.
Now, that may seem to us a cruel thing to bring a crippled child into the world in order to make mankind aware of normal children. But the fact is it’s even a greater pity that such an expenditure is made and despite that people don’t learn.
Everybody who has a normal child or if you yourself are normal, you should never stop being happy. Never stop thinking, “Why wasn’t I born a Mongolian?”
Did you ever see a man pushing his big son, a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair? You see right away he has a queer face and the boy is sitting like this. And the father is pushing him around for years and years and he’ll continue like that for the rest of his life. And that’s nachas from a child?
Suppose that father could take his son and make him look like you and behave like you. How would the father dance with simchah! He would dance more than you dance on Simchas Torah. He would dance all day long. And so would the son.
And therefore, one lesson is for the people who are preserved from such blemishes to learn and to rejoice. You have normal children? Be happy to no end!
Now, the question is what about these children themselves? Although these children serve an important function, we want them to be compensated for their services. Actually they do a lot of services for us because these children, these crippled or retarded people are the recipients of the kindliness of others. They give people opportunities to do mitzvos. If there were no sick people, so how could you do all these good deeds for which people are zocheh to Olam Haba and also to Olam Hazeh?
But in addition to all this, the crippled child receives a reward. Hakadosh Baruch Hu compensates them in the World to Come. They do not lose out.
And if you’ll say, “Is it fair they should lose out in this world? After all, this world they’re not getting.”
And the answer is, this world is nothing but a deception. It’s only a superficial scenario. It comes to an end before you know that it’s over. It’s all over! Nobody is satisfied with the length of days. It’s too quick for him. And then there comes senility and illness and death. Everybody must leave the world.
And so, the success of a man depends not on this life but on what happens in the Afterlife. And in the Afterlife, the deprived children will be fully rewarded for their work that they served in this world, and they’re not going to lose anything!
On the contrary, he could have lost a great deal because actually it’s dangerous to be normal in this world! If a person is normal and doesn’t utilize the opportunities, he’s held accountable. But these poor children didn’t have any choice and Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives them a full payment for a full lifetime of service to Him.
And therefore, the justice of Hashem is exonerated and vindicated by Olam Haba.
September 1983
