One of Rabbi Yechezkel of Kozmir’s visitors told him about a trouble that had befallen a certain Jew, and in recounting it, he said that surely everything G-d does is for the good.
Rabbi Yechezkel replied: “The Torah tells us that when Yosef fell upon the neck of his brother Benyamin, both of them wept.
“Our Sages say that Benyamin wept over the Temple of Shiloh, which was destined to be in Yosef’s portion, and Yosef wept over the Temple that would be built in Benyamin’s portion.
“And at first glance, one might ask: why did each not weep over the Temple in his own portion?
“Rather,” explained the tzaddik, “when a person suffers trouble himself, he must accept the suffering with love. But when the trouble touches another, one must feel sorrow and weep.”
