Chazal (Yoma 22:) say, סייעיה דמרא גברא מרגיש ולא חלי לא כמה. The literal translation is, as Rashi writes, "How confident, guaranteed, and worry-free is the person whom Hakadosh Baruch Hu helps." When a person sees that Hashem is helping him, he knows he doesn’t have to worry about anything.
I heard from the Zvhiler Rebbe of America zt'l another explanation, hinted in these words. When Hashem helps a person (סייעה דמרא גברא), he doesn't always recognize that it is from Hashem (מרגיש ולא חלי לא). He thinks it is natural.
In Shemonah Esrei, we say ונרפא 'ה רפאנו, "Heal us Hashem, so we will be healed." Why do we daven for refuah? Why don't we daven not to become sick in the first place?
The Yaavetz answers that everyone is ill, only they aren't aware of it. "There isn't a healthy person who doesn't have some sickness in him. He doesn't feel it because, according to the rules of nature, this type of illness isn't felt, or it is Hashem helping him not be affected by his illness [but he is certainly ill. As Chazal say], 'Those who experience miracles, but aren’t aware of them.'" (The Shevet HaLevi zt'l would often repeat this lesson from the Yaavetz.)
...and traveled in peace and tranquility doesn't praise Hashem. He doesn't have the intelligence to recognize that he should praise Hashem ten times more than the person who faced dangers and was on the verge of death. He didn't even see the bad!"
The four categories of people who are obligated to praise Hashem are discussed in Tehillim (107). The final pasuk of this chapter states, 'ה חסדי ויתבוננו אלו וישמר חכם מי, "He who is wise will keep these in mind, and they will contemplate the kindness of Hashem." Following Alshich's explanation, we can explain that the wise recognize Hashem's kindness even when he doesn’t see any danger. The wise praise Hashem even more because they were spared the trauma and fear. Because they think about Hashem's kindness when everything is perfect, they won't need to endure hardships to recognize Hashem. They are wise because they are saving themselves from trouble.
We say [in the Haggadah shel Pesach], מידם מצילנו ה"והקב לכלותינו עלינו עומדים ודור דור שבכל, in every generation [reshaim] stand up against us to destroy us and Hakadosh Baruch Hu saves us from their hands." The Panim Yafos (Bo 10:2) explains that Hashem saves us before the tzaros begin! We don't even know about the tzaros Hashem saves us from, as Chazal (Niddah 31.) say, הנס בעל אין בניסו מכיר, when a miracle happens to a person, he doesn't even notice it!" This is exactly our subject. Hashem's kindness is so great that often we are saved with miracles, and not only don’t we suffer in the hands of our adversaries, but we also don’t suffer the fear and panic. We are saved before we know there is a tzarah.
The Panim Yafos teaches that we should always praise Hashem because it could be that we were just saved from a great tzarah, and we don't even know about it. He writes that this is the meaning of (Tehillim 107) הודו 'ה גאולי יאמרו ...'לה, "Give thanks to Hashem... Those who were saved should say it..." We should imagine that resha'im stood up against us and we were saved, and therefore, we must praise Hashem because possibly that occurred, only we aren't aware of it. "Everyone should imagine that he was in great danger, and Hashem saved him."
This lesson is alluded to in the words (22:29) תזבחו לרצונכם 'לה תודה זבח תזבחו וכי, "When you slaughter a korban todah to Hashem, you shall slaughter it by your will." The Divrei Chaim zt'l explains that this refers to a voluntary korban todah. It is לרצונכם; you chose to bring it. This refers to when we don't know how or when we were saved, but we know that Hashem constantly saves us without us knowing about it, and for these times, we want to express gratitude to Hashem.
Praise Hashem for His Kindness Each Day
An elderly person of eighty-six years old was on a respirator in the hospital for a few days. When he was ready to leave, the hospital staff told him that he owed them $10,000 for using the respirator. The old man began to cry. The hospital staff assumed he was crying because he couldn't afford to pay so much, so they told him he could get a deduction and pay half that amount.
He replied, "I wasn't crying about the cost. When you told me that the cost is $10,000, I understood how much I owe Hashem Who gives me breath every day and every minute for the past eighty-six years! How much I owe Him!"
The Gemara (Bava Metzia 86) relates that Reb Shimon ben Chalafta sat on a mountain and asked his daughter to wave a fan at him on a sweltering day. He promised to give her packages of נרד, a type of besamim, in reward. Soon afterward, a fresh breeze blew. Reb Shimon ben Chalafta said, "How many packages of נרד I owe Hakadosh Baruch Hu!" This is because Hashem bestows His kindness on us all the time, and we should recognize it and praise Him.
The Or HaChaim (Shemos 22:6) writes, "There isn't an hour or a moment when Hakadosh Baruch Hu isn't doing [kindness] for man, either for his body or for his needs." Hashem's kindness is constant; therefore, we should constantly praise Him. This is the lesson of the korban todah. We can't bring an actual korban in our times, but we can praise Hashem for all His kindness.
Reb Matisyahu Luria zt'l had a letter correspondence with a person who was going through a hard time. Reb Matisyahu wrote to him that if he focuses on the good in his life, the bad will be batel b'rov, annulled and be like nothing compared to all the good he enjoys. The good that he receives far outnumbers the troubles he has. If he would put all the kindness that Hashem gives to him on the right side of a scale and his troubles on the left side, the right side would far outweigh the left side. And with that awareness, he will realize that it is foolish to complain.
He should praise Hashem because the bad that he has is ברוב בטל, annulled in the multitudes of all the good. He writes that this can be alluded to in the words (Tehillim 150:2) גדלו כרוב הללוהו, "Praise Him as befits His superb greatness." גדלו רוב means that whatever seems negative in life, it is batel in the majority of kindness we receive.
Parashas Vayikra discusses the korban ויורד עולה. This is a korban that is brought according to one's wealth. If he can afford it, he brings a שעירה או כשבה, a sheep or a goat, for a chatas. If he is poor, he brings two birds, one for an oleh and one for a chatas. Why must he bring an oleh? If he was wealthy, he would only bring cattle for a chatas!
The Ibn Ezra (Vayikra 5:7) replies, "It is because perhaps he had a thought." This means that since he is poor, perhaps he has a complaint against Hashem. To atone for this bad thought, he must bring a korban olah together with his chatas. A korban olah atones for negative thoughts (see Yerushalmi Yoma 8:7).
This tells us that we shouldn't have negative thoughts, and we shouldn't complain. We should recognize Hashem's kindness and praise Hashem for all the good we receive.
The Gemara (Bava Kama 16.) states, "After seven years [in the grave], a person's spine becomes a snake if he didn't bow down for modim." Toras Chaim explains, "This is because Hashem does kindness with His creation every day and at every moment; only a person doesn't recognize the miracles that Hashem performs for him. He thinks the world runs on its own. He doesn't recognize that every move and every breath is from Hashem yisbarach, as it states (Tehillim 37:23) כוננו גבר מצעדי 'מה, [which means that all of man's steps are from Hashem], and it states (Iyov 12:10) איש בשר כל ורוח חי כל נפש בידו אשר, 'In Whose hand is the soul of all living and the breath of all human flesh.'
"It would be proper for a person to praise Hashem all the time for each step, movement, and breath, as Chazal (Bereishis Rabba 14:9) state, ה"י תהלל הנשמה כל, that we should praise Hashem for each breath...And since it is impossible for a person to praise Hashem constantly, from the morning until nighttime, and to praise Hashem for each step, breath, and movement... therefore, Chazal found a solution and established that every night, morning, and afternoon we should praise Hashem [with Modim]. With this one praise (of Modim), he praises Hashem for every breath and all the kindness and wonders that Hashem does with him every moment. With this one praise, he fulfills his obligation to praise Hashem. Therefore, we say in this prayer נשמותינו ועל ...חיינו על, this is to praise Hashem for each breath... This is why they established that we should bow down when we say this brachah, as it is the custom of people to bow to their friends and nod their heads when they express gratitude to their fellow man. Wherever there is gratitude, there is bowing down. For example, it states (Tehillim 138:2) שמך את ואודה קדשך היכל אל אשתחוה חסדך על, ' I shall bow myself toward Your holy Temple, and I shall give thanks to Your name for Your kindness and Your truth.'
"The Midrash says that when the snake came to entice Chavah, it stood erect because it came to deny Hashem yisborach. This is why whoever doesn't bow down by modim, his spine will become a snake. This is because if he stands erect and doesn't bow down to praise Hashem for all His kindness, he denies Hashem and claims that it isn't Hashem Who does all the kindness that he receives. It is like he agrees with the first snake of creation because all kefirah and foreign ideas come from it."
