Suffering for the Good in Tehillim
The Sages said in Pesachim (52): “Seven things are hidden from a person… and one of them is yom ha-nechamah, the day of deliverance from suffering.” Every suffering has a purpose, and even if at present we do not understand how or why it is good for us, in the future we will look back and understand everything. Every suffering saves us from even greater suffering. The Sages say that David HaMelech experienced every kind of tzarah in his life. His entire book of Tehillim is permeated with the suffering he endured. When David was born, his family greeted his birth with utter ridicule and contempt, treating him as a mamzer: “I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother's sons.” (Tehillim 69:9) David was not allowed to eat together with the other members of his family; he had a separate table in the corner. They made him a shepherd, hoping that a wild animal would come and kill him while he was in the fields. Then came the hatred and persecution from King Saul, the betrayal of close friends, and the betrayal of his own son. And despite it all, the central endeavor of David HaMelech’s life became Sefer Tehillim—praise of the Almighty. He became the Creator’s Psalmist. David HaMelech writes in Tehillim 73 that he almost stumbled when he saw the wicked grow fat in their arrogance, live without compassion for others, and die without suffering... Only when he came to the sanctuary of Hashem (a miracle was performed for David: during his lifetime, Hashem lifted him up so that he could see the whole picture) did he see: “You set them in slippery places, to cast them down to destruction...” Be'er Mayim Chaim—Rabbi Chaim of Chernovitz writes that David HaMelech thanked the Almighty for his suffering because he saw that salvation came precisely through it. He expounds on Tehillim (118:21): א֭וֹדְךָ כִּ֣י עֲנִיתָ֑נִי וַתְּהִי־לִ֝֗י לִֽישׁוּעָֽה׃ - “Odecha ki anitani, va-tehi li li'shuah”—(I will thank You, for You answered me [sent me suffering] and became my salvation). Be'er Mayim Chaim says that there are three types of suffering: 1. The first type increases a person’s reward in the World to Come. “It is known that all suffering in this world is precious, because it leads to a moment of delight in the radiance of the Shechinah in Olam HaBa.” 2. The second type erases sins, and a person will not have to endure punishment in Gehinnom. “One moment in Gehinnom is more difficult than all the suffering in this world. A thousand sufferings in this world are better than punishment in Gehinnom.” 3. The third reminds a person to do teshuvah. Sometimes the Almighty decides to send a person good, but it first comes in a negative form. A person thinks that it is bad for him, but with the passage of time he will see that much good came from it. A student of the Ramban was niftar at a young age. The Ramban wrote a kame'a (amulet) and placed it in his student's hand. The student was buried with the kame'a. The Ramban told him: “When you ascend to Heaven, find the chamber of Kiseot le-Mishpat (the Thrones of Judgment). Ask why you had to depart at such an early age, and why the Jews of this generation are enduring so much tzarot.” Some time later, the Ramban was studying Torah by a window. The window opened, and his student appeared before him, looking as though he were alive. He said: “With the Rebbe’s kame'a I went from chamber to chamber, and none of the angels stopped me. I reached the chamber of Kiseot le-Mishpat, but I could not ask the Rebbe any questions, because in that chamber the Almighty’s Mercy is clearly visible. Even what appears bad on earth is solely for the good. I had nothing to ask.” A Segulah for Relief from Suffering—Praising the Almighty It is written in Tehillim (50:23): זֹבֵ֥חַ תּוֹדָ֗ה יְֽכַ֫בְּדָ֥נְנִי וְשָׂ֥ם דֶּ֑רֶךְ אַ֝רְאֶ֗נּוּ בְּיֵ֣שַׁע אֱלֹהִֽים׃ - “Zove'ach todah yehabdaneni, ve-sam derech ar'enu be-yesha Elokim” - (He who offers a thanksgiving offering honors Me, and to him who sets his way [right] I will show the salvation of G-d).Sefat Emet—Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh-Leib of Gur says that the doubled “nun” ננ in the word יְֽכַ֫בְּדָ֥נְנִי “yehabdaneni” hints to us that we must “praise the Almighty” both for the good and for the bad. The pasuk ends with the words: “I will show him the salvation of G-d.”
In other words, praising the Almighty for both good and bad contributes to salvation, to deliverance from yissurim (suffering). When a person praises the Almighty with the understanding that everything comes from Him, blessed be He, he will merit deliverance.
A Place in Gan Eden Corresponding to One’s Trials Chazal teach that in Gan Eden, a person is assigned a place corresponding to the trials he endured in this world. On Motzaei Yom Kippur, the Chafetz Chaim gathered the young men who prayed in his Beit Midrash. The First World War was underway, and many of the young men were due to be drafted into the army. The Chafetz Chaim said to them: “I am glad to see you on Yom Kippur, because I will not merit seeing you in the World to Come. Through the trials you will endure in this world, you will merit the loftiest levels in Gan Eden.” Reward for Suffering It is written in Tehillim (90:15): שַׂ֭מְּחֵנוּ כִּימ֣וֹת עִנִּיתָ֑נוּ שְׁ֝נ֗וֹת רָאִ֥ינוּ רָעָֽה׃ - “Samcheinu kิมot inितanu, shnot ra'inu ra'ah” - (Make us rejoice in proportion to the days You afflicted us, the years in which we saw adversity). Why does it say, “Make us rejoice in proportion to the days You afflicted us”? It should have said, “Deal mercifully with us in proportion to the days You afflicted us.” It seems to us that what happened to us was bad—we suffered. But in truth, it was good. Therefore, we say, “in proportion to the days in which we saw adversity.” We saw bad, but it was not bad. We ask, “Make us rejoice in proportion to the days You afflicted us.” We ask for joy, not Mercy, because Your Mercy was always there; we simply did not understand it. Suffering is also Chesed. We ask the Almighty for another form of Chesed: to accept everything with joy. B'ezrat Hashem, may all the yissurim that Bnei Yisrael have endured soon be transformed into joy for us! (Based on a lesson by Rabbi Elimelech Biderman (shlita), “The Well of Torah,” Vayigash)