Life is a Mess – The Jewish Perspective On Challenge and Adversity

Der baal agalah shmaised, dee ferd briken-zich, un-dervaile fort-men.
– Reb Mendel Futerfass;

Loosely translated:
The coachman whips, the horses lash-out and all the while the journey progresses.
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When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill
When funds are low and debts are high
You try to smile but somehow sigh.
When life weigh’s you down more than a bit
Rest you must but never ever quit.
Life is queer it twists and it turns
As everyone at some point is apt to learn.
But don’t give up though the pace seems slow
You might yet succeed with just another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of clouds of doubt.
Many a failure will turn about
You may be a winner should you stick it out.
You never can tell how close you are
It may be very near when it seems all so far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must recommit!
– Author unknown

Who said that life was supposed to be smooth sailing; unmarred and untainted by adversity and resistance? Whoever said that life was to be tranquil and challenge-free was certainly not quoting the Torah. The Torah makes no such claim.

The fact is that the Torah is replete with the opposite message. From the lives of our ancestors, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, to our slavery in Egypt, to Israel’s forty-year journey in the desert, the recurring theme is one of challenge, adversity, failure and ultimately triumph. King Solomon sums it up, in Proverbs, rather succinctly: “Sheva yipol tzaddik v’kam” (a Tzaddik – righteous person – falls seven times and rises).

Life is indeed a messy business; a cacophony of challenges, setbacks, and victories. There is nothing neat or tranquil about it. But how does Judaism explain challenge, adversity and turmoil? Is it a bad thing or a good thing, or perhaps neither?

The correct answer is that the Torah perceives adversity and challenge in an extremely positive light. The deep-rooted Jewish belief is that everything that happens, even that which appears to be negative is good. Life was apparently not supposed to be a box of chocolates. As one of my spiritual mentors was wont to say: “You want tranquility? Visit the cemetery; among the dead it is very peaceful. Among the living there is strife and disorder.”

This outlook is underscored by the Talmudic declaration that we must bless the Lord for the seeming evil in our lives even as we bless Him for the good. Hence, according to Jewish law when a Jew hears good tidings, he blesses G-d who “is good and does good.” And when he hears bad news of death or destruction, heaven forbid, he similarly praises G-d: “Blessed are you O Lord, the true judge.”

The notion that every occurrence is infused with good and for the good, pertains to all adversity, even to Divine retribution. The following observation made by the classic Torah commentaries in reference to the affliction of Tzaraas – which constitutes the majority of both of this week’s Torah portions, Tazria and Mitzora – is a fitting illustration of this fundamental Jewish principle.

The Torah renders the Mitzora, one with a leprosy-like malady – a condition brought-on by spiritual deficiency – spiritually impure and requires him to be quarantined. A unique characteristic of the Tzaraas condition was its capacity to manifest itself in a person’s body, garments, as well as the walls of his home.

In Chapter, 14 Verse 33, the Torah relates the following instruction: “When you arrive in the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I will place a Tzaraas affliction upon a house in the land of your possession. The one to whom the house belongs shall come and declare to the Kohen saying: ‘A sort of affliction has appeared to me in the house’ . . . The Kohen shall return on the seventh day; he shall look and behold the affliction had spread in the walls of the house. The Kohen shall command, and they shall remove the stones that contain the affliction . . . If the affliction returns and erupts in the house after he has removed the stones . . . it is a malignant Tzaraas in the house, it is contaminated. He shall demolish the house – its stones, its timbers, and all the mortar of the house . . .”

Needless to say, when Tzaraas struck, in whatever form, it was not a happy occurrence. In the case of the afflicted house it was particularly distressing, since in its worst form, it would result in the demolition of the house – a rather costly and devastating ordeal on the part of the owner. Yet ironically, the commentaries perceive this destructive form of Tzaraas in a positive and constructive light.

From the peculiar manner in which the Torah introduces this topic: “When you arrive in the land . . . I will place a Tzaraas affliction upon a house . . .” – the implication being that this is some type of good tiding, Rashi asserts that the Canaanite inhabitants – resigned to the fact that the Israelites were poised to conquer the land – went ahead and hid their valuables in the walls of their homes. In order to enable the Jewish owners to acquire this wealth, G-d placed the affliction on the wall where the treasure was buried so that the stones would have to be removed and hence the treasure uncovered.

Amazing! We’re talking about a person who had been stricken with a serious catastrophe, perhaps as a punishment for damaging transgressions. Still, our sages see in this Divine mercy and blessing. How is this to be understood?

The answer is that herein lies the very essence of the Jewish perspective regarding adversity. G-d, being the epitome of goodness and compassion, does not perform acts of badness. Even when G-d tests us or exacts punishment, the very act is itself permeated with His loving kindness. Rather than revenge, its purpose is to help us uncover deep hidden treasures, whether within the walls of our homes or the confines of our souls.

Much as with Tzaraas there is nothing pretty or orderly about adversity and challenge, other than the result – the triumph of the soul and the ultimate fulfillment of its earthly journey.

May we merit to witness that day with our fleshly eyes in an open and revealed manner. May we soon arrive at the promised age when challenge and adversity will vanish from the world, when we will experience the true reward and purpose for human existence, with the coming of the righteous Moshiach.