The Beis Avraham notes that the first tochachah, curse, written in this week's parashah is (26:16) בֶּהָלָה עֲל ֵיכֶם וְהִפְק ַדְתִּי, "I will order, upon you, confusion." This is because there is nothing worse than confusion.
We say in the Hoshanos, מבהלה נפש הושענא, that Hashem should save us from confusion. This Hoshanah is written after ...מדלקת דגן הושענא מחגב חיטה, "Hashem, save the crops from fire... and the wheat from locust..." The Chofetz Chaim explains that just as fire and locust totally consume a crop, similarly, confusion can completely destroy a person.
Someone once asked the Chofetz Chaim's son-in-law which trait of his father-in-law he was most impressed by, and he replied that it was his calmness. He always maintained peace of mind, even during hard times.
The Gemara (Yevamos 121a) states: Rabban Gamliel said: "Once I was sailing on a ship, and I saw another ship, which broke in the sea. This caused me distress because I knew that there was a talmid chacham on that ship. I knew that Reb Akiva was on that ship. When I reached dry land, Reb Akiva was there, and he discussed halachos with me. I said, 'My son, who saved your life?' He replied, נענעתי עלי שבא וגל גל וכל ,לי נזדמן ספינה של דף ראשי לו ‘I managed to grab onto a board of the ship, and every wave that came towards me, I bent my head.'"
This Gemara is repeated as a mashal and good counsel as a way to overcome all tzaros of life. One must bend his head, let the hard time pass, and in this manner, you will survive. Don't let the problems destroy your yishuv hadaas, and don't panic. The time will pass, and matters will become better again.
Tzaddikim of Yerushalayim added that the word גל, which literally means a wave, also alludes to the "gall," a limb in a human body. In Torah sources, the gall often represents troubles and problems. (An example is the expression moreh shechorah, which literally translated means "the black gall", and it represents depression.) There is also the green gall, which represents troubles. For each גל, for each trouble, bend your head, and let the moment pass. Believe that it is all for the good, and things will become better for you, with Hashem's help.
We can tell a mashal of a truck driver who wanted to drive under a bridge. Before coming near the bridge, there was a sign that stated the height of the bridge, how tall the bridge is above the ground. This truck measured the exact height of the bridge, and the truck driver foolishly thought that this meant he could drive under it.
He got stuck midway. He couldn't go frontwards or backwards. Someone told him, "Let air out of your tires, and you will be able to pass through." The same is true for all people who are stuck in their lives. Take out some air, humble yourself, accept Hashem's hashgachah, and you will be able to pass through all your challenges.
Reb Menachem Nachum zt'l (the son of the Magid of Trisk zt'l) wanted to live in Kutlana, a town near Brisk. He first came to Reb Yoshe Ber zt'l (the Beis HaLevi), the Rav of Brisk, to ask permission to move to Kutlana. From that moment, a close friendship developed between them. When the Kutlana Rebbe's home was completed, Reb Yoshe Ber came to visit him. The Beis HaLevi told Reb Menachem Nachum, "The house is very small..."
Rebbe Menachem Nachum replied, "There is a simple solution to that problem. We make ourselves small, and then the house is huge."
Returning to his home in Brisk, the Beis HaLevi told his students, "Today, in one moment, I learned a lesson from Reb Menachem Nochum that I didn't learn from all the years I studied with my Rebbes."
The Mishnah (Nega'im 12:1) states, אינו עגול בית בנגעים מטמא, "A round house doesn't become tamei with tumas nega'im (tzaraas)". I heard the following explanation from a clever person: Some people resemble a square. They have their ways, limits, and personalities, and don't deviate from their ways. Then, some people don't have sharp corners, and they can compromise and change their style when the situation requires it. The Mishnah hints that someone with the latter personality, flexible, doesn't become tamei. He can learn to get along with everyone. Whereas those who are very exact about how life should be suffer and always find problems in their lives.
