How to Handle Insults With Emunah

Insult: It’s All for the Very Best

November 11, 2017

One of the foundation principles of emuna is that Hashem does everything for the very best. There are no exceptions to this rule, whether or not we understand how a given tribulation or difficulty can possibly be for the best or not. As hard as we try, we can’t understand what and why Hashem is doing. But, when the brain kicks out, emuna kicks in.

Minor tribulations frequently spare us from major suffering. Take for example humiliation in public: someone mops the floor with us in such a way that we’re humiliated in front of hundreds of people, like in synagogue on a major holiday. Such an ordeal is more than enough to save a person from a head-on collision, a heart attack, a stroke, or a direct hit from a Katyusha rocket; that is, if we accept the ordeal with emuna. Sure our face is flush with embarrassment, yet we react with emuna and not with rage and clenched fists. A bit of insult is a gift from Hashem, a purification and correction of our souls, and an atonement that eradicates stern judgments. It’s a priceless tribulation that keeps our health and income intact.

We don’t look for insults and humiliation, but once we get them, we should thank Hashem profusely.

True strength is when we have the strength to react forcefully, but we don’t.

We don’t ask Hashem to punish whoever it is that’s tormenting us. Yet, don’t envy such a person; they have chosen the path of negative deeds and that’s why they are negative messengers. Yet, they will have to pay the price of their actions.

In light of the above, don’t envy a journalist who deliberately slanders an entire group of people with the express purpose of perpetrating hatred for his own popularity or monetary gain.

Just remember, the negative messenger is only a stick in Hashem’s hands. But, even if we get hit with the stick, it’s all for the very best. Thank You, Hashem!

From Lazer Beams. [missing]