Two-year-old Yankele discovers a surprise in the depths of the closet: Shining candies! These are in fact mothballs, pills made of very dangerous poison that were placed in closets in order to drive away cockroaches and ants. He is excited about his find, brings the “candy” to his mouth ... and at the last second, b’hashgachah pratis, his mother notices and miraculously pulls the dangerous poison away from his mouth and hurries to wash off his hands.
Yankele cries and screams while his mother mouths the words of Mizmor L’sodah. What a miracle! The Master of the world watched over her son! Yankele continues to kick and scream, asking for the candy, while his mother calms him, and in exchange for the poison, she gives him a whole package of pretzels. Ordinarily he would get only a few pretzels, but now the whole bag is his.
He calms down, yet one cannot say he isn’t disappointed that his mother did not agree to give him the candy.
This mashal demonstrates the words of Rabbeinu Yonah on the passuk (Mishlei 10:28), “The hope of tzaddikim is a source of joy.”
Rabbenu Yonah brings two explanations. One is that when the tzaddik hopes for a yeshuah, he davens and asks and speaks to Hashem, and he invokes many segulos and zechuyos, and this situation in which he is connected to Hashem when he is busy asking for mercy is in itself a source of joy. The mere hope and anticipation of Hashem’s yeshuah is his joy, even though he has not yet been saved. He has gratification from the tefillah he merited to say from the depths of his heart, and from the closeness to Hashem and from anticipating His yeshuah.
But this time we will focus on his second explanation: There are times when a person anticipates a yeshuah and asks Hashem to send him his desire. It is possible that he is waiting for his shidduch for many years and nothing is moving. There are couples who are waiting to have a child, or a Yid who is begging for good health, but his tests show that he needs more treatments, l”a – and how intensely he and all those who know him are praying for him!
There are situations when a person feels his tefillos have not been answered. The truth is that according to the Heavenly plan, it is not for his good right now that his desire be given to him. The Ari Hakadosh would reveal to people their tikkun, but nowadays we have not been zocheh to have the Ari in our midst, and we have nothing to do but believe that, just as back then they knew they had to make specific tikkunim, it is the same today. While we do not know the reasons, it is clear that all of Hashem’s actions are just and true, for the eternal good of each and every one of us. As we are taught (Tehillim 33:4), “Hashem’s Word is straightforward, and everything He does is in good faith.”
And nonetheless, these tefillos are not lost. Each tefillah is used for other matters. As Rabbenu Yonah beautifully explains: Their salvation is close at hand, and if the matter they are hoping for does not come, their hopes will serve the purpose of bringing about chassadim that are greater and of greater quality than what they asked for, as it says (Tehillim 32:10), “He who trusts in Hashem, kindness will surround him.”
Consider, for example, a Yid who is asking and begging for his health, but it was decreed upon him in Shamayim that he go through a tikkun that involves his physical health. Nonetheless, his tefillos are not for naught, for Hashem might repay all His debts, and He will have no financial problems. While the request this Yid made was not fulfilled, he was zocheh to tremendous relief from his yissurim through the fact that he is relieved from the worry of parnassah!
His neighbor, on the other hand, is dealing with debts upon debts, going from one gemach to the next, and seeing no end to the cycle. He does all his hishtadlus, and how many tefillos he pours out to the Creator about this issue. He does not know, and he will not know, that on Rosh Hashanah it was decreed for him that he would fall and break his leg, l”a, go through a difficult surgery, and be laid up in bed for months. Now, with all the tefillos that he davened and the teshuvah he did as he begged to get out of debt, the decree was annulled, and both he and his family are healthy and whole, while they have no idea of the danger that was hanging over their heads.
The tefillos that we daven from the depths of our hearts – they all go up, and they all accomplish something. This is a great source of joy to the person who trusts in Hashem. To know that even if he hasn’t seen the yeshuah — because it is not for his good to receive it now — he is zocheh to tremendous chassadim, even greater ones than the matter that he is davening for so strongly.
Thus, even if he is still awaiting his yehsuah, he can sense the chessed and mercy of Hashem surrounding him, the good and the gifts that Hashem grants him as a result of his requests regarding that which is still missing.
May we be zocheh to see great and revealed chassadim, and may we all see general and personal yeshuos, in good health and bountiful parnassah; amen.
