Kriat Shema Al Hamitah (Part 18)
Kriat Shema al Hamitah continues: He said, “If you carefully listen to the Voice of Hashem, your
The closing words of our verse are incredibly significant. Despite the fact that there are times when, in our perception, we feel as if Hashem is treating us harshly, we are being taught that it is always for our benefit. Even when Hashem metes out “punishments,” He is doing so only to help us overcome our seeming inability to connect to Him in the most effective way. Can there be anything more uplifting than knowing, “For I am Hashem your Healer”? To recognize that Hashem’s reactions are determined by His immeasurable love for us, even though it might sometimes require great effort to remember that?
Once, at Shalosh Seudot, the Chofetz Chaim made a truly disquieting statement. He told those present, “The entire world is filled with heresy and denial of Hashem. I’m not only referring to the non-religious and the non-Jews who don’t believe in Hashem. I’m referring to Jews who fear Hashem. Very often, if you pay attention to what they say, you will hear heresy! If a businessman says, ‘What can I do to earn money? And how should I go about it? What are the details?’ - and throughout his discussion he forgets that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is in charge and that without His Will nothing will happen - that is heresy.”
The Chofetz Chaim concluded, “In my opinion, everyone should spend an hour a day thinking about emunah [belief] and bitachon [faith]. A person should think about the fact that our Sages teach us (Chullin 7b), ‘No one hurts their finger below (in this world) unless it was decreed above,’ and also ponder other fundamentals of emunah. They should clear their thoughts from all other matters, speak to themselves about emunah, and engrave emunah onto their heart.”
There is a well-known joke that illustrates the ability we all have to ignore Hashem. A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As he sat there, he and the barber began an enjoyable conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of Hashem, the barber told his client, “I don't believe that Hashem exists.”
“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.
“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that Hashem doesn’t exist. Tell me, if Hashem exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be so much sorrow in the world? If Hashem existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving Hashem who would allow all of these things!”
The customer decided not to respond because he really wasn’t interested in getting sucked into a never-ending argument. The barber finished his job and the customer paid, and left the store. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, matted hair and a wild, untrimmed beard. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber, “You know what? Barbers don’t exist!”
“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just cut your hair!”
“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist, because if they did, there would be no people with dirty, long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”
“That’s ridiculous! Of course, barbers exist!” he answered. “The problem is not that barbers don’t exist. The problem is that people like that fellow outside don’t bother going to one.”
“Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! Hashem, too, does exist. What happens, is, people don’t go to Him. They simply don’t look for Him!”
As jokes go, it may not be the funniest one you’ve ever heard. But it is quite thought-provoking.
Regardless of how many times throughout the day we ignore Hashem, despite how many times we might choose to disregard His messages, our day draws to a close with the declaration, “For I am Hashem your Healer.” As we go to sleep for the night, we follow the directive of the Chofetz Chain to reinforce our belief and our faith that everything that happens to us is for our benefit. Even, or perhaps especially, those things that we perceive as being not good.
*To be continued…
