Reb Nota Zenwirth zt'l once came to the beis medresh with a broom and announced that he was waving a lulav. They looked at him queerly. Why was he calling a broom a lulav?
He explained, "I took a lulav on Succos because it was Hashem's will. Now, it is Hashem's will that I take a broom and clean up the beis medresh." (Dirt in the beis medresh made it impermissible to daven there.)
This is because we don’t always choose our avodas Hashem. It is what Hashem wants it to be. People have ideas of what their avodas Hashem should be, and if it isn't as planned, they feel that they can't serve Hashem. Actually, Hashem gives us the tests and circumstances, and we must pass the tests, no matter what is thrown our way.
Someone admired and loved the king of his country. One day, he told the king that he wanted to serve him and would do whatever the king asked. The king replied, "I have all the mayors and officials I need for my kingdom. The only thing I need is someone to stand guard in the sewer outside the palace." The man backed out. That wasn't the type of service he had in mind.
The nimshal is when we say the Shema in the morning, we pronounce Hashem king and proclaim that we are prepared to serve Him. But then Hashem sends us a test, a situation, and we might say, "This isn't the type of avodas Hashem that I planned on." But it isn't up to us to decide. We do Hashem's will with loyalty and with devotion.
Rebbe Zusha of Anipoli and Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk zt'l were once in prison, and there was a toilet in the room, preventing them from davening and learning. Rebbe Elimelech was very upset about that. It was hard enough being in jail, and now they couldn't even daven or learn there! Rebbe Zusha explained to his brother that there was no reason to be upset. "We can now perform the mitzvah of not learning Torah and not davening when there is something impure in the room." Rebbe Elimelech agreed, and they danced joyously around the toilet bucket. They were happy they could do Hashem's will.
The guard heard the singing and dancing and ran to see what was happening. He said, "Oh, so it is the bucket you are so happy about," and he took it away. Now, they were able to learn and daven, as well.
On the night of the Seder, a young grandson of Rebbe Yochanan of Tolna zt'l found a bottle of beer (it was stored away and sold for Pesach). The boy took the beer and brought it into the room where the Seder was being held. The family was horrified. "Chametz in our home, at the Seder?!" Rebbe Yochanan saw things differently. He told his grandson, "Chazal say that when one finds chametz in his home on Pesach, he should cover it with a utensil. Thank you, my dear grandson, for giving me the opportunity to fulfill this statement of Chazal once in my life."
It wasn't the type of service that most people want on Pesach, but if this is Hashem's will, we perform it joyfully.
Why were Yaakov and Eisav twins? The Ritvah (Hagadah shel Pesach) explains that when you ask someone, "Why don't you serve Hashem as that person does? Don't you see he serves Hashem much better than you do?!" The person will generally respond, "How can you compare us? Do you know who his parents are? If I were born to his parents, I would also be like him." Here we have Eisav and Yaakov. They were born to the same set of parents and at the same time, so they had the same mazal, and yet Yaakov became Yaakov Avinu and Eisav became Eisav harasha. It isn't the situations that make you great, but rather your choices. When you pass the tests that Hashem gives you, you will reach the highest levels.
