Q:
What benefit does Hakodosh Boruch Hu accomplish when children are born who are retarded, Down Syndrome, other things. And how can parents cope and deal with the situation?
A:
Now you should know that this is a very big problem. I receive letters from all over the world about this. And they ask me to tell them what to do. “What can we do? What can you tell us?”
And the answer is Hakodosh Boruch Hu created unfortunates in the world for two reasons – my little head is telling me two reasons. One reason is that we have to learn how to deal with them with rachamim.
That’s why there are poor people in the world. A poor man is matzil the wealthy man midina shel Gehenom. When you give money to a poor man, you are not doing him a favor – he is doing you a favor. He is saving you from Gehenom. A very important function of unfortunate people is that they save us by giving us the opportunity to do things to help them. And therefore having a child like that in the home means you are gaining a tremendous benefit. The chasodim you do to that child are going to pay you in this world and in the next world.
Now what about the child himself? Why shouldn’t he enjoy a happy life, a normal life? The answer is Hakodosh Boruch Hu is going to pay him off for his service, that he served in this world for the benefit of other people.
The Gemara in Avoda Zara says that in the Next World Hakodosh Boruch Hu will teach him Torah. The Gemara says that Hakodosh Boruch Hu teaches the children who die young. He’ll take all the Down Syndrome children and He’ll teach them Torah. And Hakodosh Boruch Hu is a good teacher. He’ll give them Olam Haboh because they served His service – they were loyal servants to Him.
Now, a second function of the unfortunates is in order we should realize how lucky we are, how fortunate we are. If you have good children and you yourself are normal, then thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And that’s why there are unfortunates in the world, so that we should compare ourselves to them. If you pass a place of Muscular Dystrophy; if you see people who are cripples and their heads are wandering from side to side as they are carried out in wheelchairs as you pass by, don’t waste the opportunity. Give a shevach to Hakodosh Boruch Hu that you are not among them.
And all your life you have to thank Hakodosh Boruch Hu for being normal. You have to do that; that’s the purpose of these people. And whenever you see anybody that is a baal mum, one of the purposes is to awaken you to your duty of saying to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, “Thank you!” You should feel an eternal gratitude that you are not in that person’s shoes.
TAPE # E-10
