Emunah Sweetens The Pain:
Sefer Tiferes Shmuel states that this pasuk alludes to a great lesson.
The Mishnah (Brachos 9:5) says: “A person is obligated to make a blessing on the bad just like he is obligated to make a blessing on the good.” The Tiferes Shmuel explains that it is an obligation upon every Jew to believe with complete faith that nothing big or small ever occurs that is not ordained by Hashem.
Hashem is the One who rules and guides the entire world and He is the only power that has the ability to do anything. And everything He does is good. Since He is the source of everything, and everything He does to us is for our benefit, it is obvious that even when it appears that we are being judged strictly and treated harshly, everything that is happening is actually for our own good. When one has such a level of emunah, all judgments from Hashem will be sweet for him. He will realize that strict judgements are actually Divine kindnesses.
We are currently in the midst of a long and bitter golus. We are faced with many troubles and difficulties every day. Our only solution is to have strong emunah in Hashem and trust that everything that happens comes from Him and is meant for our benefit.
This is what Hashem showed Yaakov in his dream: He saw a ladder standing on the ground. This was a representation of golus and all the pain and suffering Klal Yisroel would go through when they would be down on the ground and stuck in the mud. Still and all, the top of the ladder reached to the Heavens. This represented the fact that emunah can sweeten the suffering, allow us to realize that it is all Hashem’s kindness, and raise us up to great heights.
The pasuk then says that “behold” angels of Hashem were going up and down the ladder. The word “hinei”, behold, always indicates joy (as in Shemos 4:14). This teaches us that we should accept our difficulties with joy and realize that they are for our ultimate benefit. This is why we are meant to bless the “bad” as much as we bless the good.
The Gemara in Brachos (60B) adds that we should “accept it with joy”. This is learned from the malachim who were going down the ladder, but even as they went downwards, they were as happy as they were when they went up because they knew that this was the will of Hashem.
