The Loser who Won

Translated by Rabbi Lazer Brody

There is a famous story about a millionaire who didn’t even know how to write his own name, and used to sign his checks with a fingerprint. One day his secretary summoned up the courage (or the chutzpah) to ask him how it is possible that someone who can’t even sign his own name could have become as successful as he. He answered, “It’s funny, but had I known how to write, I would not have become a millionaire. I’ll tell you why…”
 
He grew up in a wreck of a home, and never learned to read and write. After much searching, he finally found work in a factory as a simple worker. One day the management decided that it was not acceptable to employ someone who didn’t know how to read or write, so they laid him off. He received severance, and he left. Hashem helped this man, and even though he was left without work, he was satisfied with his lot, and believed with complete faith that everything was for the good.
 
He opened a small kiosk with his severance pay, and was successful selling newspapers and cigarettes. So he opened another kiosk and another until he became somewhat wealthy. He then decided to invest in a factory, and he struck it rich.
 
“So you see,” concluded the wealthy man, “if I would have known how to write, I would have remained a simple worker at the factory, and would not be a millionaire now!”
 
The moral of the story – we can’t see what Hashem sees, nor do we have even the tiniest capability to understand what Hashem is doing. But here’s the good news – where our brains kick out, emuna kicks in! When we believe in Hashem, we can be calm, cool and collected, knowing that everything comes from Him and that everything is for our ultimate benefit. Hashem does only good. Do you know what that means? Really, there is no evil at all!
 
Look what happens when a person lacks emuna: He decides that it’s NOT good to be fired, and his stress level goes through the roof. Such a person is miserable and worried. He agonizes, “They fired me! What will I do?” Such fretting is not exactly denying Divine Providence, but it leads to a downward spiral of anger, vengeance, and despair. How many sins of evil speech, jealousy, and worse will this person commit in the process, bringing more harsh decrees upon himself and the world? Such a person reacts irrationally, loses his emotional and even physical health, and virtually guarantees himself further suffering.
 
Emuna saves us from such a bleak scenario. Emuna enables us to continue functioning with self-composure. Emuna neutralizes the negative emotions that lead to ulcers, strokes, and cardiac arrests. Emuna is the only path to happiness and inner peace. With emuna, we don’t have to shoulder the world’s problems – we trust Hashem and let Him handle everything.
 
Even more, how many good deeds will such a person be able to do, and how much benefit will he derive from the light of those deeds done with emuna, both spiritually and materially?! How many negative decrees will be nullified for the entire world on behalf of this person’s emuna?! He literally brings the redemption and has tremendous merit.
 
There’s a clever expression: “Don’t tell Hashem that you have troubles; tell your troubles that you have Hashem.” Tell your troubles, “You should know that I have Hashem, and in one moment, He can finish you off.”
 
Divulging our problems to Hashem is fine, but it could lead to self-pity – the opposite of emuna. A person who knows that everything is for the best doesn’t have self-pity. Instead of telling Hashem that we have troubles, we should tell ourselves that we have Hashem. Hashem loves us and does everything with our best interests at heart. He knows what’s good for us much more than we ourselves do. Therefore, when we strengthen ourselves in emuna and thank Hashem for whatever problem or challenge we face, salvation comes in the blink of an eye.
 
With emuna, nothing scares us. Whenever a problem arises, we thank Hashem, assess ourselves, rectify whatever needs rectifying, and pray. If we respond to our troubles with emuna, then since emuna is above nature – Hashem responds accordingly and defies nature to solve our problems. The result is that we see miraculous solutions, because Hashem is constantly with us! This is the fantastic benefit of emuna and gratitude.