“And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and he will send with you your other brother and Benjamin; and me, as I am bereaved, I am bereaved” (Genesis 43:14). “And may God Almighty grant you mercy” – Rabbi Pinḥas in the name of Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzippori began: “Happy is the man whom You chastise, Lord” (Psalms 94:12). And if he resents it – “You instruct him from Your Torah” (Psalms 94:12).1He can learn from the Torah that God-given chastisement in this world is for his ultimate benefit.
What is written regarding Abraham? “[Go for yourself from your land…to the land that I will show you.] And I will bless you and I will make your name great” (Genesis 12:1–2) – when he departed, he encountered famine and he did not object and did not protest. You, too, if suffering has befallen you, do not object and do not accuse. Rabbi Alexandri said to him: You have no man without suffering.
Happy is the man whom suffering befalls through the Torah,2His allotment of suffering is met through his exertion in Torah study (Nezer HaKodesh). as it is stated: “You instruct him from Your Torah.” Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: All suffering that befalls a person and causes him to be idle from Torah matters, is suffering of rebuke, but suffering that befalls a person and does not cause him to be idle from Torah matters, is suffering of love, as it is written: “For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes” (Proverbs 3:12).
Rabbi Ḥama saw a certain blind person sitting and toiling in Torah. He said to him: ‘Greetings, free man.’ He said to [Rabbi Ḥama]: ‘From where did you hear that this man3Referring to himself. is the son of slaves?’ He said to him: ‘No, [that was not my intention,] but rather that you are a free man in the World to Come.’4You will be free of sin because of your great dedication to Torah study under difficult circumstances.
Rabbi Yudan said: It is written: “If he shall dislodge the tooth of his slave or the tooth of his maidservant, he shall send him to freedom” (Exodus 21:27) – if due to these, which are not the person’s entire body, but rather, one of his limbs, the Torah said: “He shall send him to freedom,” one for whom suffering afflicts his entire body, all the more so. Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: “Happy is the man whom You chastise, Lord” is not written here,5“Lord” is not written as the Tetragrammaton. but rather, “whom You chastise, Lord [Yah]” – one who is sentenced before the judge screams and is aggrieved, and says: ‘Ya, ya – enough [dai], enough!’
So, Jacob said: ‘He who is destined to say enough [dai] to suffering, let Him say enough to my suffering,’ as it is stated: “And may God Almighty [Shadai] grant you mercy before the man….”