18 Aug A LIFE BY DESIGN: FINDING EMUNAH IN LIFE’S CHALLENGES

This week’s parshah,
Ki Tetse, teaches an
inspiring lesson in
emunah, one that can be
particularly uplifting for
anyone struggling with challenges or difficult
circumstances. The Torah says:
“When you build a new house, you shall
make a guardrail for your roof, so that you
do not place blood in your house if the one
who falls should fall from it.” (Devarim
22:8)
Rashi famously asks: Why does the Torah
refer to the person as “the one who falls”
before he has actually fallen? Why describe
him as the one who falls when, at that point,
he is still standing?
Chazal explain that from the time of
Creation, this person was destined to fall,
and therefore the Torah refers to him as “the
one who falls” even before the accident
occurs.
This raises a fundamental question: If the
person was destined to fall, why does the
Torah command us to build a guardrail? If the
accident was already destined to happen, what
difference would the guardrail make?
Rashi provides a profound answer. The person

may indeed have been destined to fall, but it
was not predetermined that he would fall
from this particular balcony. The Torah
therefore commands the homeowner to
take the necessary precautions and install a
guardrail. Perhaps the person was destined to
fall elsewhere, but he should not fall because
of your negligence.
This teaches us a powerful principle: Knowing
that everything is part of Hashem’s plan
does not exempt us from responsibility.
We are required to take every reasonable
precaution to prevent harm. The outcome may
ultimately be determined by Hashem, but we
are responsible for our choices and actions.
In other words, emunah in Divine providence
and human responsibility do not contradict one
another. We must do everything in our power
to prevent danger, while recognizing that the
ultimate outcome remains in Hashem’s hands.
There is another striking insight here. Chazal
are teaching us that a person’s destiny—
including the circumstances of his death—
can be determined even before he is born.
But they go even further: this destiny was
not established merely before his birth; it
was already part of Hashem’s plan from the
very beginning of Creation. From the six

days of Creation, the events of a person’s life
were already woven into the grand design of
Creation.
Imagine, for example, that a person is
tragically killed in a car accident. Those who
hear about the tragedy may view it in very
different ways. Some may say that the drivers
were reckless or that the accident could
have been prevented. Others may see it as a
punishment from Heaven, while still others
may attribute it to chance or unfortunate
circumstances.
Chazal, however, teach us a very different
outlook. Behind every event lies a Divine plan
that was established long before the event
itself occurred. What may appear to us as a
sudden and unexpected tragedy was already
known and accounted for in Hashem’s plan for
Creation. This perspective does not diminish
the tragedy or excuse human responsibility,
but it gives us a deeper understanding of
emunah: nothing is truly random, and
even events that appear unforeseen are
ultimately part of Hashem’s master plan.
Chazal offer a further profound insight. Rebbe
Yehoshua ben Levi says:
“All the works of Creation were created in
their complete form, with their consent, and
according to the form they chose.” (Rosh
Hashanah 11a)
Rashi explains “with their consent” (לדעתן (
to mean that Hashem informed them that He
was going to create them, and they willingly
agreed.
And what does it mean that they were created
“according to the form they chose” (לצביונן ?(
Rashi explains that they were created in the
form they themselves chose.
This teaches an extraordinary concept:
the details of Creation were not arbitrary.
Each creature was brought into existence in
the form and condition that was part of its
predetermined purpose.
According to Rashi, before each person
was created, he was given the opportunity
to choose the form in which he would be
created—to determine, so to speak, his own
“custom design.” Hashem then created him
exactly according to that choice.
Rabbeinu Bachya elaborates on this idea:
“What this Midrash is trying to illustrate is
that all creatures, at the time of their creation,
which occurred in accordance with their will
and aspirations, were informed by Hashem at
that time of all that would befall them in the
course of their lives. Similarly, He informs
them of the number of years they are going
to live and what the manner of their death is
going to be. They are also informed if they
will enjoy an easy livelihood, or if they will
have to struggle and suffer in order to eke out
a living. Hashem tells them if they will be
dependent on handouts or will be able to make
a living through their own skills and labors.
At that time, those creatures were all satisfied

with what fate was to have in store for them.”
This raises a profound question: If a person
was informed beforehand about the life he
was going to have, why would anyone choose
a life filled with challenges and hardships?
Why would a person choose difficulties with
livelihood, health, children, marriage, Torah
learning, friends, neighbors, or other areas
of life? Wouldn’t everyone naturally choose
a life filled with goodness, happiness, and
comfort?
The answer is that our definition of “good” and
“bad” is very different from the perspective
of the next world. In this world, we often
equate good with an easy, comfortable, and
pleasant life, and bad with hardship, pain,
and difficulty. But from the perspective of the
eternal world, it becomes clear that this is not
necessarily the case.
In the next world, a person understands what
truly matters. He sees which experiences
elevated him, strengthened him, refined
him, and brought him closer to his ultimate
purpose. He realizes that what appeared in this
world to be a hardship may have been one of
the greatest gifts he was given.
If we could see our lives from that eternal
perspective, we might choose very differently.
We might not choose the easiest life, but
rather the life that would accomplish the most
and elevate us to the greatest heights.
Thus, the challenges we face are not
necessarily signs that something has gone
wrong. Quite often, the very difficulties we
would have tried to avoid are the experiences
that ultimately shape us, elevate us, and bring
us to a far greater place. What appears to us as
“bad” in this world may, in the larger Divine
plan, be precisely what is good for us.
Perhaps this is one of the greatest lessons of
emunah: we do not always have the ability
to choose what happens to us, but we can
trust that the life Hashem has given us
was designed with a purpose. What we
experience as a challenge may be exactly
what our neshamah needs to reach the
place it was meant to reach.