In addressing the End of Days, the Navi Zecharia says (Zechariah 14:9), Ba’yom ha’hu yiheyeh Hashem Echad u’Shemo Echad, “On that day Hashem will be One and His Name will be One.” Chazal (Pesachim 50a), ask, “Is Hashem not One even now? [Why does the pasuk say, “On that day?] Hashem is perfect unity; He is always One.” They explain that, in this world, we acknowledge what (appears to be) good, by saying, Baruch ha’Tov v’ha’Meitiv, “Blessed is the One Who is good and does good.” In contrast, upon hearing (what appears to be) bad news, we say, Baruch Dayan HaEmes, “Blessed is the True Judge.” In the future, however, everything will be recognized as good. The concept of “bad” news will not exist. Thus, “On that day Hashem will be One and His Name will be One.” The Noda B’Yehudah quotes Horav Ephraim, zl, m’Brod, who explains this further. While we believe that everything Hashem does is good and perfect, our human eyes and nature respond to what we see and feel. While there were great Tannaim, such as Nachum Ish Gamzu, who saw beyond and beneath the worldly veneer, we are not at that point yet. In the future, when the truth his revealed, we will clearly see that even the most painful events comprised an act of kindness. It will all be ha’Tov v’ha’Meitiv.
