Feb 26 2025 5 mins 1
When someone is going through a difficult time and prays day and night for a yeshuah but sees no change, it becomes incredibly hard to continue praying. He begins to feel like Hashem isn't listening. So why should I bother? He sees everyone around him enjoying their lives, free of the challenges he is facing, and he wonders, Why me? Why do I have to be so different? He has learned that everything Hashem does is good—but in this case, he cannot fathom how his suffering could possibly be for the best. Sara Imenu was one of the greatest women who ever lived. She went decades without a child, praying day and night, yet her tefillot remained unanswered. How could this have been good for her? Isn't raising children the essence of a Jewish woman's role? Everyone around her was building families, which made her situation even more painful. Yet, in hindsight, it was precisely this challenge that made Sara Imenu who she became, Decades of heartfelt tefilla without an answer. Decades of unwavering trust in Hashem, believing He was doing what was best for her. She was destined to be the mother of Klal Yisrael , and that required years of deep, heartfelt prayer. When something is extremely difficult for a person, it becomes exponentially more valuable. Praying after not being answered is far more precious than a routine tefilla. Believing in Hashem's kindness, even when everything seems to say otherwise, is an extraordinary zechut . If someone is struggling and searching for merit, these are among the greatest things he can do: Believe that his suffering is from Hashem and is for the absolute best, and continue praying, even though the answer has not yet come. Someone once shared that he had been begging Hashem for help. There were many possible outcomes that he would have been somewhat happy with. But after all of his efforts and tefillot, in his mind, the worst possible scenario unfolded. It became almost unbearable for him to continue praying when things only seemed to get worse. But perhaps Hashem was giving him the opportunity to attain the ultimate zechut —to trust in Hashem even after experiencing the greatest letdown. The ability to return and place one's trust in Hashem after such disappointment is an extraordinary achievement. The primary goal of a person's time in this world is to become the greatest eved Hashem he can be. And it is through challenges like these that we accomplish that goal. The Midrash in Yalkut Tehillim teaches that everyone experiences afflictions in life: Some lose sleep at night due to a toothache. Some are kept awake by an eye ailment. And some willingly stay awake learning Torah. The Midrash explains that all these afflictions count toward a person's necessary yesurim . When we endure pain in our avodat Hashem , it removes suffering that would have come in other ways. Losing sleep to learn Torah is difficult, but Hashem, in His kindness, does not only reward us for the Torah learned—He also considers it a substitute for other afflictions. Similarly, if someone finds it extremely difficult to pray—if it is the last thing he wants to do—then beyond the immense value it has for his neshama , and beyond the yeshuah it can bring, it is also considered a form of yesurim for him. Hashem sees the full picture of our lives. His goal is for us to succeed in this world and fulfill our mission, so we can enjoy eternal bliss in the Next World. The afflictions of this world are insignificant compared to the eternal reward that awaits us. But the only way to earn that reward is to fulfill our avodah in this world. Every tefilla we say, every thought of emunah we have, is infinitely precious. Everyone is destined for greatness—but we must put in the hard work first. Our greats never turned away from Hashem despite the immense difficulties they faced. Their tefillot and emunah through their challenges are what made them the tzaddikim they became.
