Therefore, I cannot work to annul the decrees, as I know that they are really good. However, since you are still in Olam Hazeh and cannot see the goodness, you can daven to annul the decrees.”
Rav Mordechai Chaim of Slonim zy”a related that a group of men once met with Rav Yitzchok Meir of Zinkov zy”a, the son of the Apta Rov zy”a, at a time when numerous decrees had been issued against the Jews and they asked him, “Your father said that he would refuse to enter Gan Eden until the Jews are saved from the decrees. Why didn’t he fulfill his promise?”
Rav Yitzchok Meir rested his head on his hands for a while and then said, “My father just revealed himself to me and told me as follows: The pasuk says (Tehillim 48:10): ‘Diminu Elokim chasdecha b’kerev heichalecha.’ This means that when we are in this world, it seems to us (diminu) that He is using His attribute of strict judgement (Elokim), but, in truth, ‘there is kindness in His chamber’ (chasdecha b’kerev heichalecha). Once one passes on to His chamber in the World to Come, it is clear that everything is for our good and is part of His great kindness.”
Rav Yitzchok Meir concluded, “Therefore, I cannot ask my father to request that this kindness should be taken away from us.”
Praying For His Kindness to be Revealed:
Still and all, we ask Hashem to allow us to see His kindness. Rav Boruch of Mezhibozh zy”a explains the pasuk in Tehillim (85:8): “Please show us Your kindness”, by saying that we know that everything Hashem does is merciful and kind, but some acts of kindness are revealed to us, while other are hidden from our understanding. We ask Hashem to show us His kindness, meaning that it should be revealed to us in a way that we can understand how what He is doing is good for us.
Hashem Gives Everyone What is Good for Them:
Sefer Chofetz Chaim al Hatorah (page 284) relates that the Chofetz Chaim once asked someone how he was doing and the man replied, “It wouldn’t hurt if things were a bit better“. The Chofetz Chaim told him, “How do you know it wouldn’t hurt? Hashem knows what is good for you better than you do. He cares about you more than you care about yourself, so He certainly wants to give you as much as He can. If He isn’t giving you more, it is a sure sign that having more would not be good for you.”
The Present is The Main Focus of Life:
There is a well-known statement from Rav Avrohom Eliyahu Desler zt”l, author of Mishtav M’Eliyahu, that goes as follows: “The past is merely memories. The future is merely fantasy. The present is merely tests. But how you live your life is the main thing.”
The meaning of this is that it is a waste of time to worry about the past, which is merely memories and cannot be changed. The future is merely a fantasy and also is not worth worrying about because no one knows what tomorrow will bring and the thing one is worried about may very well never happen. Therefore, one’s main focus should be on the present. And when one focuses on the present, wisely utilizes every moment as it comes, and strengthens his emunah and bitachon, he will be living a truly good life.
