Refael dreamed of becoming a special education teacher. He had no previous teaching experience, though he was confident he would make a great teacher. His only concern was how to control a classroom. He was thrilled when he was invited to try out for a teaching position.
The difficulties began almost immediately. One student started moving his chair back and forth, right and left, creating a ruckus. Refael’s disciplining skills were being tested. He told that boy, "I see you have a shaky chair. Go get another one." The student left the room to find another chair, and Rafael was able to get on with his lesson.
Five minutes later, a paper airplane landed on the teacher’s desk. Rafael said in good humor, "The Ta’z (Orach Chaim 51:1) says that שאמר ברוך was established by the Anshei Kneses HaGedolah by a שמיא מן דנפל פיתקא, a paper that fell from heaven...' It seems that a paper just fell from heaven to me too..."
The children laughed, and soon, order was restored. There were several other disturbances, but Rafael didn’t lose his temper. With humor, he avoided confrontations and continued teaching. But in his heart, he knew that he wouldn’t get the job. How could he? He couldn’t control the class.
But the principal was very impressed by how patiently Refael handled the class. He said, “Many teachers came to try out for the position, but after seeing your patience when the children misbehaved, you get the job.”
Rafael thought the children's misbehavior would cause him to lose the job. Each time a new disturbance occurred, he viewed it as another nail in the coffin of his career as a teacher. But these disturbances were precisely what granted him the job.
Before returning home, Refael said goodbye to the children, particularly appreciating those who misbehaved. Because of them, he got the job.
The lesson from this story is the awareness that hardships are for our benefit. We go through difficult times and spiritual challenges, and we think these are ruining our hope to succeed when our growth and reward depend specifically on our passing these difficult tests.
When Reb Boruch Ber (the Birkas Shmuel) stayed in America for an extended time to collect money for his yeshiva, his supporters bought him a home so he could be there with peace of mind.
