Especially in regard to Torah, Chazal tell us in many places that Torah can only be achieved through difficulty. Many seforim expound upon the concept that the only way to acquire Torah is through tzaar, through consistent toil and denying oneself the pleasures of Olam Hazeh.
The Midrash Tanchuma (פרשת נח סי' ג) discusses this at length. It quotes a possuk in Iyov (לא תִמָּצֵא בְּאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים), the Torah will not be found in the land of the living. Chazal question the meaning of this possuk, will the Torah then be found in the land of dead? Chazal explain that the Torah, especially תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה does not flourish by those who seek the pleasures of this world. The Midrash quotes the famous possuk (במדבר יט יד), זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה, אָדָם כִּי יָמוּת בְּאֹהֶל. This is the Torah, a person who 'kills' himself in the tent of Torah.
Chazal explain that Torah can only be acquired when one is מֵמִית עַצְמוֹ עָלֶיהָ, kills himself for her sake. This means he toils to a great degree, and abstains from engaging in various pleasures of the living, and in this way, he disconnects from the 'land of the living'. As a result of this mesiras nefesh, this voluntary suffering, he can truly grow in Torah. As the famous Mishnah indicates לְפוּם צַעֲרָא אַגְרָא, in proportion to the pain is the reward.
A Vessel for Greatness
So, if ever suffering is brought upon us, we must seek to utilize this as a catalyst for growth in Torah and Avodas Hashem. For in essence, suffering, when accepted and interpreted in a Torah-way, is the surest way of acquiring greatness.
Especially now in the days of Sefiras Haomer, which are a preparation for kabbolas haTorah, we should attempt to 'suffer' for the sake of Torah. We should seek to toil more, and 'give up' more, for the sake of truly acquiring Torah. As Rabbi Shimon said לֹא מָצָאתִי כִּי אִם הַגּוּף without the 'gift of suffering' we cannot find ourselves in the envious position of having reached truly lofty levels of Torah.
Furthermore, given the utter depravity of the world at large today, the only way to protect ourselves from losing sight of our holiness is through building a 'maarah' to shield us from the outer world. We set up safeguards that protect and separate us from the dangers of technology and the lack of morality in the greater world. And when the safeguards sometimes cause us difficulty or inconvenience, when we must abstain from certain activities or go through discomfort as a result of the 'cave' we have entered, we must remind ourselves of the rewards of the צַעַר הַמְּעָרָה.
May the day in which we will finally emerge from the maarah soon be upon us, and then we will bask in the brilliant light of the eternal reward that we accrued over the long golus of suffering which we valiantly endured. אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
תּוֹרָתוֹ מָגֵן לָנוּ הִיא מְאִירַת עֵינֵינוּ
גוט שבת