Anti-Emuna Emuna

The world is overwhelmed with suffering these days. Everyone is suffering from something. Even secular people realize that the world can’t continue on this path for much longer, and something’s gotta change.

Religious Jews have been asking for the arrival of Mashiach for millennia. We were taught to believe that once Mashiach comes, all of our problems will just magically disappear and we’ll all live happily ever after.

Reality check. That ain’t exactly how it’s gonna go down.

We got spiritual debts to pay, man! Do you think that Hashem is gonna use a little white-out on the debit side of your ledger, and all of your transgressions will just disappear? Does that sound fair to you? What about all of the previous generations that had to pay in full for their misdeeds? Have you ever thought about how they would feel if they saw you getting away with yours? Like, that’s so totally not cool!

Judaism teaches us that when Mashiach arrives, that’s it. No more mitzvah opportunities, no more opportunity for teshuva, and of course, no more transgressions. You may say that you don’t care; that you just want to end the suffering already. This attitude, however, is short-sighted. Here’s why.

I recently read in a book that quoted the Yalkut Shimoni as saying that the Redemption will come in the merit of emuna. Well, if you’ve read The Garden of Gratitude, then you already know that. What is the essence of the emuna that will bring the Redemption? The Ya’aros Devash tells us that this means that we lovingly accept everything Hashem gives us, without complaint.

Sooo…. Tell me something. If we’re begging Hashem to bring Mashiach because we just can’t take any more suffering, doesn’t that sound like we’re complaining? How can we complain about our suffering and, at the same moment, demand the Redemption? Talk about chutzpah!

By complaining about our collective suffering, we are, in fact, exemplifying the exact antithesis of emuna! It’s anti-emuna emuna! We think that we’re spiritual supermen flying in the air with emuna, when in fact we still haven’t left ground zero? We say that we believe that everything Hashem does is for the best, but we’re so consumed with suffering that we can’t stand it anymore!

Let’s put this into a dialogue, shall we? “Hashem! In theory, we believe that everything You do is for the best. But, we’re so fed up of the way the world is these days! We can’t stand all of the suffering, the violence, the injustice, the maniacal and psychopathic Presidential candidates, the absolute lunacy that is all around us! Why don’t You just fix it already?? Why can’t You just send us our redeemer, so we can live without stress and worries? Enough is enough, Hashem!”

When we thank Hashem for our personal suffering, many times we may experience miraculous salvations. Let’s call them mini-redemptions. Imagine, then, if we thank Hashem for our collective suffering! Wouldn’t it follow that we will also experience the large-scale salvation that we’ve been waiting for?

So now you have the secret to the Redemption in your hands. If you want Mashiach and a world where love, peace, and butterflies reign, then start thanking Hashem for your suffering! May we all merit to see the world of suffering end, and the world of everlasting bliss begin, speedily, Amen!