Q:
It says in the Gemara (Brachos 10a) that a person should never give up hope and should never stop asking Hashem for mercy, even if a sharp sword is already on his neck. So my question is: Why is Hashem putting the sharp sword on this person’s neck in the first place?
A:
And the answer is that Hashem puts the sword on his neck so that he should ask for rachamim, so that he should ask Hashem for mercy. The biggest achievement of life is not living itself. Oh no! The biggest achievement of our lives is emunah – to believe in Hashem and to become more and more aware of Him.
So if a man has a sharp sword on his neck and now he cries out to Hashem because of that, that’s a success. That’s his success! Whatever happens subsequently is not important! Just to live, just to continue living, without purpose is unimportant. What’s important is the calling out to Hashem.
There’s great success in thinking, “I’m calling out to Hashem!” Awareness of Hashem – that’s the success of a person and that’s why Hakodosh Boruch Hu causes things to happen. Illness comes upon people for the purpose of stimulating them to call out to Hashem. Now, if they heal they’re very happy. But that’s not the success. The success was that they cried out to Hashem. That’s the real success.
TAPE # 809 (November 1990)
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About the Author: TorasAvigdor
