Rabbenu Bachyai repeatedly cites the passuk, “...and He who trusts in Hashem — chessed surrounds him” (Tehillim 32:10). When reading this passuk superficially, it seems to be saying, “Many aches are the lot of a wicked man” (ibid.), meaning that a wicked man experiences lots of pain in this world, while the tzaddik’s life is filled with comfort. But as we know, that is not the reality of this world. Are there any tzaddikim whose lives are pleasant and smooth without any pain or problems?! Have we not seen exalted people, true tzaddikim of the world, who are surrounded by pain, difficulty, hurt and suffering?! Obviously, the passuk means something else.
Malbim explains that the wicked man is one who does not pay attention to the ways of Hashem — his life is filled with pain and anger. Every time something does not go according to his plan, even when the smallest thing happens that does not suit his desires, it makes him angry, even furious. He always feels that people are against him, and he challenges them: “Why did you do that to me,” or, “Why did you talk to me like that?” Sometimes he’s angry at others, and other times — at himself. He blames everything on his bad luck or his own stupid mistakes. He believes only in nature and thinks that “his strength and the might of his hand” are what achieves everything he has, and therefore he is constantly frustrated.
In contrast, the tzaddik strengthens himself in the mitzvah of bitachon and knows that everything is from Hashem yisbarach. He has invested time and energy in learning the sugyah of bitachon, and he has reviewed and heard and learned and then reviewed again the fundamentals of emunah. He lives with the words and phrases that express bitachon, such as, “This too is for the best”; “Hashem had good reason to make this happen”; “This is from Hashem”; “He alone makes things happen”; and, “Everything, whether beneficial or harmful, is in the Hands of the Creator yisbarach.”
The tzaddik’s life is serene and calm. We do not say that he doesn’t ever suffer any pain, but the determining factor is the way he accepts that which comes upon him. He knows with strong, deep awareness that everything is for the good, that everything is from a loving, merciful Father, Who does only good for him. He is 100 percent sure that the difficulties and even the illnesses, the losses or the lack of nachas, are nothing other than a great good from the Creator yisbarach. He sees everything around him as Hashem’s chessed, and thus the same thing that causes pain to the wicked man is understood by the one who trusts in Hashem as chessed! Chessed surrounds him.
Another explanation of the words “chessed surrounds him” is that with a viewpoint of bitachon, anything that appears to be difficult is actually transformed and becomes chessed.
The Kuzari explains (3:14) how a person who trusts in Hashem is surrounded by chessed, and this is because he fully believes that everything is for the good, such as Nachum ish Gamzu, who said, regarding everything that happened to him, including the stones and gems that turned into dust — “This too is for the good.” The strong faith that everything Hashem does is for the best brings a person to live a sweet life, and his tzaros are not a burden upon him! He is like someone who is repaying a debt, who feels very happy to pay it up.
There are all sorts of levels of repaying a debt. There is a small debt of ten shekels that were missing when he was grocery shopping: Yaakov saw a buyer in a helpless state and lent him money, and the next day during Minchah, the buyer repaid the debt. This is indeed cause for rejoicing, because “a case of one prutah is as important [to Hashem] as a case involving a hundred dinars,” but this is a small joy. On the other hand, one can pay a certain debt to a gemach by borrowing money from another gemach. The debtor remains a debtor, but to another gemach, not to this one.
But what about someone who suddenly is given several hundred thousand dollars, and he then pays all his debts at once? That person will be so thrilled he will feel like he is walking on air. That’s it, no debts! At all! This is a great joy! May Hashem bring this joy to all the homes of Yisrael!
The yissurim we suffer in this world are repayment of a debt in the highest form possible: They clear away the harsh judgments in the World to Come! How much we daven, “Avinu Malkeinu, erase, in Your great mercies, all that we owe You.” When a person undergoes a certain difficulty or pain with emunah, he erases all his debts to Hashem!
When we accept difficulties in this way, we can understand how one who trusts in Hashem has a wonderful life, and chessed surrounds him.
May we merit to strengthen ourselves more and more in emunah and bitachon, and through this may there pour forth much shefa, brachah, and hatzlachah; amen.
