13 Jan VAEIRA: YESURIM

The Kamarna
(Heichal HaBrachah
Vayechi) writes, “I
heard my Rebbe say
to someone, “Accept
everything that happens
to you with love, and
then you will have
both Olam HaZeh
and Olam Haba.” The
man replied that he
will daven to have
the strength to accept
everything with love.
The Rebbe replied,
“You spoke correctly.

One has to daven for this.”
There seem to be two opinions in Chazal,
whether one should praise Hashem first and
then state his requests, or vice versa, to first
ask for his requests and then to praise Hashem.
Based on the lesson above, the Kamarna said
that one should first ask Hashem for strength
to recognize that everything is for the good,
and then he will be able to praise Hashem.
The Chofetz Chaim (Shem Olam ch.3 Hagah)
writes in the name of the Vilna Gaon zy’a, “If
it weren’t for yesurim, we have no hope of
earning Olam HaBa.”
The Chofetz Chaim explains that after a person

goes up to heaven, the yeusrim he suffered in
his lifetime can change the heavenly court’s
verdict to a good decree. “Suddenly, a bas kol
announces and asks, ‘Where are the yesurim
that he had in this world?’ Immediately, all
the yesurim he had throughout his life gather,
and they all go to the right side of the scale.
This turns the scale to the side of virtue. This
is because the yesurim removes his aveiros
from him, and he becomes a tzaddik. When
this occurs, he becomes happy and praises
Hashem for the yesurim he endured.” Chazal
(Sifri Ha’azinu) says that Hakadosh Baruch
Hu says, “Whenever I give you yesurim in this
world, remember how much good I will give
you because of it in the future world of Olam
HaBa.”
A simple person was niftar in Radin. He wasn’t
known to be a tzaddik or a talmid chacham, so
no one thought it necessary to tell the Chofetz
Chaim. When the Chofetz Chaim heard that
this simple man was niftar, he was upset that
they didn’t tell him. He wanted the zechus of
going to this man’s levayah.
When asked why he was so upset, the Chofetz
Chaim replied, “Behold it states (Mishlei 17:3)
“Hashem checks the heart.” Only Hakadosh
Baruch Hu knows what is happening in a
person’s heart. We can’t know who is a tzaddik
and who isn’t. However, Chazal (Brachos
5.) tell us that yesurim remove all aveiros of

man. The niftar was a baal yesurim, so he was
certainly clean from aveiros and a tzaddik. It
would, therefore, be a merit for me to partake
in the final honor of this tzaddik, to attend his
levayah.”
The Beis Yosef had a malach (also called
a Magid) teach him Torah and mussar; the
lessons are written in Magid Meisharim.
It states in this holy sefer (beginning of
Vayeshev) that the magid (the malach) told
the Beis Yosef that his third wife would have
a baby boy. Naturally, she couldn’t bear
children, but she endured yesurim, and in this
merit, heaven would bless her with a son. The
yesurim were (a) the Beis Yosef once went to
exile to study Torah, and the separation wasn’t
easy for his wife. (2) When he returned home,
he fell ill, and his wife had to take care of him.
This was also very hard for her. But with the
merit of these hardships, she was able to bear
a child. According to the rules of nature, she
couldn’t bear children (in a previous gilgul,
she was a male, a talmid chacham) but had her
salvation because of the yesurim she endured.
We quote from the Magid Meisharim, “She
merited this due to her good deeds, and
because of the tzaar that she endured when you
[the Beis Yosef] went to galus and was distant
from her. She also had tzaar when she took
care of you when you were ill. This is because
a person gains so much from the yesurim that

come to him when he accepts the yesurim with
a happy attitude, as joyous as someone who
merited to perform a mitzvah. This is because
when the body suffers yesurim, the tumah
becomes weaker, and the soul becomes purer
and cleaner from the tumah. Therefore, you
will have a male child, as I promised you.”
The Chofetz Chaim (Shemiras HaLashon,
Shaar HaTevunah ch.8) explains how a person
can reach the level of being happy with
yesurim: “This middah [of being happy with
yesurim] comes to a person when he has a holy
nefesh and he has pure emunah in Hashem
that He watches over everything he does. As
it states (Iyov 34:21) ‘For His eyes are upon
man’s ways,’ and Hashem does everything for
his benefit.”