Maintaining Emunah

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

A woman told me that a couple of weeks ago, her child turned on the shower and a few minutes later, water was pouring through the ceiling of their basement. They called the plumber the next day, but he couldn't figure out where the leak was coming from. They called a second plumber, who opened up some walls, and even with that, was not able to find the source of the leak. It was obviously very frustrating not being able to use their shower and not knowing if and when it will be repaired. Being that this woman is a teacher in school, she decided to use the experience to teach her class a lesson in emunah. She told the class about the challenges that Hashem sends in life and how we're supposed to accept them and recognize that they are for our best. She spoke about rising to the occasion and understanding that Hashem could always bring the salvations in an instant. She then left off with her class that she will let them know how she does with her current nisayon . This experience helped her strengthen herself in emunah and happily accept what she was going through. That same day, her husband told her he donated $5,200 to an organization in the zechut that Hashem helps them with their plumbing issue. That night, they decided to try the shower and see if the problem was solved, and amazingly, it was. There was no leak. The next day, they all used the shower in preparation for Shabbat, and again, no trace of a leak. They told the plumber, and he didn't believe them. He said, leaks don't just fix themselves. They, however, said to themselves, it's true, leaks don't fix themselves, but Hashem does fix them. The woman was so excited to tell her class on Monday of the amazing miracle that Hashem did for them. Two days later, the woman's housekeeper quit. They had her for quite some time and were very dependent on her. With both her and her husband working full days and, baruch Hashem, a household of little children, this was a blow to them. Initially, the woman wanted to complain, but then she stopped herself. She reminded herself of how the Jewish people openly saw the hand of Hashem in Mitzrayim and in the desert, and yet, many of them still complained when things got tough. She was always baffled, asking, “How could it be that people who saw Hashem openly could ever complain about anything?” And now, she applied that to herself. She said, “I just saw Hashem openly in my life, and I'm ready to complain.” She used that thought process to give herself chizuk , and she held back from complaining. Rather, she was able to accept that the housekeeper quitting came directly from Hashem for her best, and once again, Hashem was waiting for her to respond the right way. That night, she went to sleep completely calm and said, “I know Hashem could give me a housekeeper that's better in every way than the one I had.” Sure enough, just a few days later, that housekeeper was found. The woman is so much happier with the new housekeeper than the one she had previously. Everyone is tested in different ways. Some people may say, “I wish my test was which housekeeper I'm getting.” Nobody should ever feel they want anybody else's test or what anybody else has. Hashem gives every person exactly what they need to do their job. If we go through the challenges that Hashem sends us the way that Hashem wants us to, then we will always be successful, no matter what the outcome is. We love to see yeshuat Hashem, but even if we don't see it, we should be happy with the knowledge that we maintained our emunah in any given circumstance and understand that that is the best gain we can possibly have.