Mussar Saves You from Yissurim
Yissurim (suffering) are important and precious too. People wish there were no Yissurim in their lives. They don’t realize how important Yissurim are. Without them, we would become big Baalei Ga'ava (arrogant people). Every time a person gets Yissurim, he should look at it as if he is gradually purifying himself from his sins. Throughout his life, Yissurim will come his way, to help him become fully clean when he arrives “safely” at his place in the next world.
Yissurim are Precious! Rabbi Elozor ben Rabbi Shimon actually loved his Yissurim, and he asked for them! He called them “My loved ones”! (Gemara). He is a Siman for all of us to appreciate the Middas HaDin in our lives, instead of hating them.
Even so, Rabbi Elozor ben Rabbi Shimon did not rely on his own merit, but accepted suffering, lest he had sinned against one of the righteous. In the evening, they would place sixty mattresses under him, and in the morning, they would draw out sixty basins of blood and pus from his boils. The next day, his wife would prepare sixty kinds of food for him, and he would eat and recover, but she would not let him go to the Beis Midrash so that the Rabbis would not pressure him. In the evening, he would call his friends to his pain, and in the morning, he would send them away so as not to interrupt Torah study.
Even the smallest Yissurim, though a person may not pay attention to them and may even dismiss them, are still counted as suffering. The complete person, even if he is happy with his Yissurim and they are minor compared to greater suffering, they are still considered suffering in judgment. The Rambam in Pirkei Avot (4:4) tells of a pious man who was asked which day was his happiest. He replied: the day he was on a ship, in the lowest place, and was greatly humiliated by another, yet his soul did not hurt, and he was not moved to act against him. Even though he did not feel the suffering, it was still considered suffering for him.
Yissurim do not have to be painful for the complete person; since they are considered suffering in the world, they are called suffering for him as well. The law of suffering is according to worldly matters, and what the complete person is happy with is not because he does not feel pain, but because his spirit overcomes it. The suffering still does its work, cleansing his sins. If he overcomes and accepts his suffering without rejecting Hashem’s decree, he gains double: his sins are cleansed, and he is elevated by overcoming his pain.
Me'am Lo'ez on Accepting Suffering
When suffering comes upon a person, he should not be overly distressed or saddened, for everything is for his good, and he should accept his suffering with love. Hashem will have mercy and heal him. But if he does not accept his suffering with love and complains, saying, "Why has this evil come upon me?" two evils result: his sadness can harm him more than the illness, and since he complains, Hashem may prolong his suffering. Therefore, it is proper to accept everything with love.
