With Joy, Emunah, and Bitachon
Rav Ze’ev Aryeh Shteiglitz from Bnei Brak, Rav Nosson Halevi from Beitar Illit: The questioner thinks he isn’t happy because his portion is a small one, but that is not correct. He won’t be happy even if he has more, because it is his nature to think sad thoughts. The solution is for him to recall all the good that Hashem has done for him, and to see what he has right now in contrast to what he was lacking in the past. This mode of thought will cause him to be happier, and it will also bring him shefa from Above.
Rav Moshe Henig from Beit Shemesh: You are allowed to anticipate and want more than what you have, and still be “happy with your lot.” Anticipate more, but be happy. As Rav Yehuda Mandel has taught us, worrying and becoming upset are a total contradiction to bitachon. Be a boteiach – be calm (and daven to Hakadosh Baruch Hu that He help you to be calm), and turn your thoughts away from your worries over the tight financial situation you’re in right now. Be happy with your current situation, and at the same time, hope and trust that more good and more shefa will come! And with Hashem’s help you will see a yeshuah!
Rav Yehuda Gewirtzman from Beit Shemesh, Rav Avraham Wein from Ashdod, Rav Efraim Heksher from Modi’in Illit: The greatest difficulty in life is the feeling of lacking. We are always feeling that we aren’t getting enough and that we are worthy of more. But when we start being grateful for what we have, and we see all the good there is in our lives, then we start to be happier. When we live with the emunah that the Creator owes us nothing, and that everything we have, even the smallest thing, is a free gift, we begin to see all the good in our lives and not all the bad, and we are happy and glad with what there is.
Rav Shlomo Shimon Rotman from Beit Shemesh and Rav Eliyahu Yosef Friedman from Yerushalayim: When we thank Hashem for each and every thing, even the small things, we develop happiness with our lot.
Rav Aharon Schick from Bnei Brak and Rav Naftali Kreiger from Beitar Illit: Emunah and bitachon bring one to simchah. When we believe that the Creator provides us with everything we need, and that everything we have came to us with an exact cheshbon, and not by chance but by Hashem’s decree, and the fact that we have less than we might want is also the desire of the Creator – then we can achieve simchah. And in general, it is worthwhile to value whatever we have and to be happy with it, to enjoy every small thing we have just as we enjoy the major things.
Rav Chaim Ben-Senyor from Bnei Brak: Sefer Chafetz Chaim al HaTorah (Parshas Va’eschanan) discusses this question, and the gist of the answer is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows what each and every person is meant to have. He knows that if one person were to be in another person’s situation, he would suffer a lot more. The Chafetz Chaim brings a mashal of a carpenter who has a large saw to cut down trees, and if we were to switch it for a grander and more expensive saw, it would cause a lot of damage, and he would not be able to succeed in his work. Likewise, if a person finds himself in a situation that causes him great distress, he should not be discouraged, for it is only for his good.
Don’t Envy
Rav Yehonasan Levi from Yerushalayim: Jealousy blocks out the opportunity to be happy with what one has. When a person focuses on what others have, feelings of jealousy develop, and he is not capable of seeing the good he has in his own life. The solution to this is very simple: to focus only on ourselves; to open our eyes and start to see what we have (health, Torah, abilities, family, friends, possessions, etc.); to start to say thank you for this, to work very hard to overcome the tendency to feel jealous, and not to compare ourselves to our neighbors.
Rav Yishai Aboud from Tel Zion, Rav Nir Yishai from Kiryat Malachi, Rav Dovid Leifer from Yerushalayim: As the well-known saying goes, each person and his pekel. This is usually said about difficulties in life, for everyone has difficulties. But it can also be said regarding good fortune. Each person has his own pekel of good and happy things that he has received. In order to be happy with his lot, a person should focus on this pekel and see all the good that lies within it.
Rav Moshe Mor from Rechasim, Rav Mendel Stauss from Afulah: There is a comment attributed to tzaddikim on the passuk, “...in the heavens above and on the earth below”: “In the heavens” – when it comes to spiritual, heavenly matters, “above” – one should always focus on those who are above him, on a higher madreigah than he is, and he should envy them with kinas sofrim. “And on the earth” – regarding worldly matters, “below” – one should always see those who have less than him, and thus he should be happy with his lot, since he sees people who are poorer and more destitute than him and who are suffering more than him. Similarly, Rav Mordechai Galander from Beit Shemesh quotes the Kli Yakar (Parshas Terumah): “In matters of this world, meaning all physical successes, such as wealth and honor, one should look at those who are below him, and when he sees that he has so much more than many people, he will be happy with his lot.”
Rav Yaakov Steinberg from Yerushalayim: We are taught that one should not desire anything that belongs to “your fellow.” “Rei’acha” – your fellow – derives from both the root word meaning friend and the root word meaning bad. You should not covet what your friend has, because for you to have it would be bad. When we know that “what I have is good for me, and what I don’t have is bad for me,” we are able to be happy with our own portion.
