A boy suffering severe headaches was brought to the Steipler Gaon for chizuk by R’ Michel Silber. The Steipler asked him if he’s being matzliach, succeeding, in learning.
“No” was the response.
“That the source of the headaches,” said the Steipler. “The Sefer Chassidim teaches that whatever a person learns in This World, even though he may not understand it, in the Next World he nevertheless will understand with all its depth. Acknowledging this will give you chizuk and encouragement to persist, and ultimately prevent the headaches from returning.
“If you retain an appreciation for what you have and what you do, it will give you an inner satisfaction from learning, which will prevent the unwarranted headaches from returning, since there’ll be no need for the mind to be distracted from any emotional pain he won’t be encountering.” (Noam Hashem, p. 164)
Reprinted from the Parshat Bo 5784 email of Heartwarming Stories for the Shabbos Table.
