One Doesn’t Need to Know Everything:
Sefer Otzros Hatorah relates that someone once came to Shlomo Hamelech and asked him to teach him the language of the birds. Shlomo replied that it isn’t worthwhile to know this language, but the man insisted that he teach it to him, so Shlomo did.
The next time the man was walking in a field, he heard two birds speaking to each other. They were saying that this man’s herd of cattle would all die within the next week. He ran home and quickly sold his entire herd of cows and within a few days’ time they all died.
A few days later, he heard the birds saying that his house would burn down soon. He ran to sell his house and, once again, he was saved from a large monetary loss.
The next time that he heard birds talking to each other, however, he heard a very bad piece of news. They were saying that within a few days, he would die.
The man hurried back to Shlomo Hamelech and told him what he heard. Shlomo told him, “Didn’t I tell you that it isn’t a good idea to know the language of the birds? If you hadn’t heard the first two conversations, you would have lost your cows and your house. You would have accepted the Divine judgment with love and you would have done teshuva for your sins. But since you heard the conversations and saved your possessions, you did not atone for your sins and the only option was for you to die.”
We can learn from this story that something that looks like a harsh decree may really be for a person’s benefit. Hashem has mercy on the person and wants him to live. Therefore, He sends a lighter punishment that is meant to serve as his atonement, on condition that he accept the decree with temimus and that he does teshuva.
In this vein, a story is told about a chasid who lost his wealth and became very poor. This man had relatives in America who were very rich. He asked the Chidushei Harim zy”a if he should travel to America to ask them for financial assistance. The Rebbe advised him not to do this. He then asked if he should write a letter to his relatives, detailing his difficult situation and asking them to send monetary help. However, the Chidushei Harim told him not to do this either.
The chasid couldn’t understand the Rebbe’s orders and he sorrowfully went home.
Time passed and his situation did not improve. He returned to the Chidushei Harim and presented his request once more, but the Rebbe still would not agree to allow him to ask his relatives for assistance.
This occurred several more times as the man’s situation steadily deteriorated. By now, there was no bread in his house and his children were crying from hunger. His wife pressured him to do something and he returned to the Rebbe in tears. He cried, “I have no other choice other than to turn to my relatives in America for help!”
The Chidushei Harim replied, “What do you want from me? I already told you my opinion!”
Ultimately, the man did write a letter to his relatives, describing his troubles, and they sent him a large sum of money. This led to an improvement in his situation. Over time, they sent him money a few more times without him even needing to ask, and he no longer was suffering from severe poverty.
Unfortunately, the chasid’s wife became very sick at this time. Her condition got worse from day to day. The man asked his friend, who was going to visit the Chidushei Harim, to give him her name and ask him to daven for her. When the friend gave the name to the Chidushei Harim, the Rebbe was silent for several moments and then said, “Sometimes when it is decreed that someone must die, the decree is removed through other forms of suffering. For example, there is a rule that a poor person is considered dead. Therefore, the person can fulfill the decree of death by becoming impoverished. What can I do now if this chasid pushed away his poverty? When he asked his relatives for money, he was bringing death upon his wife!”
The friend traveled back home immediately but by the time he got there, the woman had already passed away.
