Parshas Vayigash

B''H

Now that we're so elevated from the holiday we just had, and as we all are going back to work after a nice double holiday we go back to our daily stressfull life of work, problems with the cliens, problems with the boss. We start wondering why can't this holiday continue? Why does it have to end?

The truth is some people like work. Of course they enjoyed the break, but they also look forward to going back to work. Those people seem to have it all. Even if they don't make that much money, or even if they do, it seems not to really matter to them. They seem always happy. Those people statisticaly are easy going people, for they seem not to have any troubles, they always seem happy.

The thing is, their perspective is different. They don't think at how unfair the boss is, or how hard life is. But rather they thank him for not doing something worse, or ruining their whole life by being in a bad mood and suddenly deciding to fire them.

Chassidut and Kabbalah teach. In order to have a good meaningfull happy life, we must look at the cup as 1/2 full, not 1/2 empty. We must always say to ourselves, all this is for the good. Even when things seem at their worst point, one must believe that it is always for the best.

We learn this from Joseph. He went through so many troubles. He was hated by his brothers who were filled with jealousy against him. He was thrown in a pit, sold several times as a slave, and even thrown into a dungeon. Through all of this he kept his faith and made it to be King Pharoh's Viceroy. He could've held a huge grudge on his brothers, but none-the-less he tried them out, tested to see if they changed their ways, all in order to make them forgive themselves. If he would've just revealed himself right away, they would go into shock and start fighting and blaming each other. When Joseph finally saw that they indeed changed. He saw how Judah did eveything in his power to protect Benjamin. Only then did Joseph reveal himself. That was when he gave them gifts, treated them Royaly etc. Joseph said to his brothers, "You did not send me here but G-d, and he made me a father to Pharoh, a Lord over all his household, and ruler over the entire land of Egypt." (45:8)
Josef saw the cup 1/2 full, and saw it for the good.

There is a story of a man. His name was Nachum Ish Gamzu.

Once he was on a journey and needed a place to spend the night. Knocking on the door of one of the homes in the town he was passing through, the person there did not let him in. He wasn't upset, for he realized, "Everything G-d does is for the best."

He went from door to door, yet no-one would give him hospitality for the night. You would think that after the 3rd or 4th
door he would give up in annoyance. But no, he stayed strong to his faith, "everything G-d does is for the best." He kept on knocking on the doors until he realised that no one in the town was going to accept him as a guest. He still stood firm, "everything G-d does is for the best."

So, he was left with no option but to camp in a forest lying at the outskirts of the town. He was traveling with a donkey to carry his packages, a rooster to wake him up early, and a lamp with which he could study at night. Shortly after he encamped, a strong wind blew out his fire, a cat ate his rooster, and a fox devoured his donkey. After each of these events, Rabbi Nachum said, "Everything that happens is for the good."

On the following morning, he discovered that during the night, a Roman legion had attacked this village and taken its people
as captives. Had he been accepted as a guest in one of these homes, he too, would have been taken captive.

And if his donkey or rooster had been alive, their braying and crowing would have attracted the legionnaires' attention. Had his candle remained burning, they would have been able to see him in the forest. "Everything that happened was for the best."

Remember that the world is not a bad place, but rather what you make it out to be. Treat life well, and it will treat you better! Have faith and take it easy. Remember, do only good! You can change the world!

Derived from Me'am Loez - Talmud (various sources). The teachings of various Chabad Rabbis - Rabbi Nachman Mibreslev, and from the teachings of Rebbe Menachem M. Schneersohn.


©Yermi Kurkus - Thought of the week