What is wrong when a person wishes to be free from troubles?
This person was listening to what I said about the greatness of tzaros, so what is wrong in wishing to be free from tzaros, in order to utilize all our energies in positive striving for perfection? When a man doesn't have any illnesses, he's able to strive for perfection.
ANSWER:
I'll tell you a story that everybody knows.
Once there was a rabbit and a turtle, and the rabbit said to the turtle, let's have a race. So the turtle said alright... and they started out, and in one minute the rabbit was out of site. The turtle was plodding along, slowly. After a while, after some hours he saw from a distance the rabbit was sitting by the side of the road sleeping. It's no use running, he's sleeping, he slept and slept and the turtle kept on going, and finally when the turtle was just about to reach the goal the rabbit looked up, and saw the turtle was a mile ahead. He tried to catch up but it was too late.
It's possible for people to strive for perfection mitoch shalom, mitoch shalva. But the trouble is like I explained before, shalva is to become unaware, to fall asleep. And that's what happens when everything goes well, people fall asleep. In the meantime, here is a man who has tzaros… let's say a baal teshuva, and he came in from the outside world, he had a lot of trouble. He had to fight against his parents, sometimes he had to give up his old wife when he married when he was irreligious, or she has to give up her old husband; all kinds of tzaros. These people are like turtles, because how fast can they travel? They can barely make a pace at a time, and still these are people who are aware, they are accomplishing something, because they know what they once were, and they are very much aware, they're sensitive to progress, whereas as Jews who had all the opportunities are usually not aware, and they fall asleep and don't gain perfection.
If you'll show me somebody who's able to develop a sense of awareness mitoch shalom, when everything always is going right, and he never needs a spur to keep him on the run, and he's always going full speed ahead, certainly that person will be most successful. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows that's not human nature. Moshe Rabeinu had the best head, and Moshe Rabeinu was given plenty of tzaros in his life - nevertheless, he utilized these things as spurs. He became greater and greater because of his difficulties.
Avrohom Avinu started out with all kinds of tzaros. He was thrown into the fire, and for years he was in prison, for years he was a fugitive the Rambam explains in Hilchos avodah zara, Avrohom was a fugitive for many years in the forests and in the deserts, and all this made him even greater.
So therefore theoretically people can grow great most easily if they have a life that facilitates making progress, but in practice it's not so. In practice almost everybody needs from time to time a spur, some kind of vicissitudes that will cause him to reappraise his situation and then to go full speed ahead.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
Important Numbers
