06 May ACHAREI MOS: FOR THE GOOD

A man came to
Rebbe Hirsh of
Riminov zt’l and
said, “My wife is
in labor, and she is
Miksha Leileid. The
doctors say that her
life is in danger if
she doesn’t give birth
soon.”
Rebbe Hirsh
Riminover sat deep
in thought for a few
moments, and then he
said, “Give me twenty gold coins, and
your wife will give birth.”
The man replied, “I’m poor. I don’t have
twenty gold coins.”
The Rebbe replied, “You can sell your
wife’s jewelry and your furniture. That
will get you close. Then, you can borrow
or collect the missing amount.”
The Divrei Chaim of Tzanz zt’l was
present when Rebbe Hirsh gave this
advice and felt terrible for the poor man.
So he rushed after him and said, “I will
daven for your wife, and she will give

birth. Everything will be well. You don’t
have to pay me anything.”
Indeed, the Divrei Chaim davened, and
the woman gave birth to a son.
But a week later, the mother was niftarah.
The Divrei Chaim said, “Why did I have
to get involved in matters of Rebbe Hirsh
Riminover? I saw (with ruach hakodesh)
that the husband doesn’t need to give so
much money for his wife to bear a child,
but Rebbe Hirsh saw further. He saw that
it was decreed for this woman to die, and
that with a pidyon of twenty gold coins,
her life would be saved. ‘Poor are like the
dead’ and poverty could take the place of
her death.”
This story tells us that sometimes
situations seem bad (like having to pay
twenty gold coins) but they are indeed
good.
The Noam Megadim (Bo) tells a mashal
of a king who summoned someone to his
palace. It was this person’s first time in
the king’s palace, and he was stunned by
the majestic beauty everywhere in the
palace. The king began speaking to him,
but it was apparent that this man’s mind

was still busy with the beauty he beheld,
the chandelier, the paintings on the wall,
etc.
The king hit him on the head with his
stick.
The man understood that the king wasn’t
punishing him. On the contrary, the king
wanted to speak to him, and this bang was
intended to get his attention.
So, too, when we go through hardships
in life, it is often to help us recognize
Hashem. We must not view it as a
punishment, rather as Hashem’s strong
desire to get our attention so we can
communicate with Him.
It states (Tehillim 89:16) “Ashrei Ha’am
Yodei Teruah.” The Noam Megadim
explains that teruah is from the word ra,
bad. The Jewish nation are yodeah teruah;
they know how to interpret the ra, the bad
things that happen to them. They know
that it is Hashem’s call to them, for their
benefit.
The Mabit (Beis Elokim, Shaar HaTefillah
16) writes, “In our generation, in galus, a
person must think that whatever happens
to him in this world, even when he stubs

a finger, it is all from Hashem. Hashem’s
hashgachah over us during galus is greater
than Hashem’s hashgachah when we lived
on our land, with our kingdom. Only, now
Hashem’s hashgachah is concealed to the
extent that sinners and rebels can think
that perhaps everything does not come
from Hashem. However, the wise person
understands that whatever happens to
us in galus, for the general community,
and the individual, is all by Hashem’s
hashgachah.”
The Rosh (Orchos Chaim 69) writes,
“Want what your Creator wants.” Because
the episodes and experiences that happen
to you are destined by Hashem, they are
certainly the best for you.