“Who herds among the lilies,” Rabbi Yoḥanan was afflicted and suffered from a fever for three and a half years. Rabbi Ḥanina ascended to visit him. He said to him: ‘How much are you [suffering]?’ He said to him: ‘I am [suffering] more that I can bear.’
He said to him: ‘Do not say that. Rather, say: Faithful God.’ When his suffering was difficult for him, he would say: ‘Faithful God.’ When his suffering was more difficult than he could bear, Rabbi Ḥanina would ascend and say something for him, and his soul would be restored.151Rabbi Ḥanina would recite an incantation that would give Rabbi Yoḥanan relief (Matnot Kehuna).
Sometime later, Rabbi Ḥanina fell ill. Rabbi Yoḥanan ascended to visit him. He said to [Rabbi Ḥanina]: ‘How much are you [suffering]?’ [Rabbi Ḥanina] said to him: ‘How difficult is the suffering!’ He said to [Rabbi Ḥanina]: ‘And how great is their reward!’ [Rabbi Ḥanina] said to him: ‘I want neither them nor their reward.’
He said to [Rabbi Ḥanina]: ‘Why do you not say that word that you would say for me, and which restored my soul?’ [Rabbi Ḥanina] said: ‘When I was on the outside, I was responsible for others. Now that I am on the inside, do I not require someone else to be responsible for me?’ He said to [Rabbi Ḥanina]: ‘It is written: “Who herds among the lilies.” The rod of the Holy One blessed be He comes often only upon people whose hearts are soft as lilies.’152God brings suffering upon people who are able to accept God’s decree with love (Matnot Kehuna).
Rabbi Elazar said: [This is analogous] to an owner who had two cows, one that had great strength and one that had minimal strength. Which one does he exert? Is it not the one that has great strength? So too, the Holy One blessed be He does not subject the wicked to ordeals.
Why? Because they would not be able to withstand it, as it is written: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea” (Isaiah 57:20). Whom does He subject to an ordeal? The righteous, as it is stated: “The Lord will test the righteous” (Psalms 11:5); “It was after these matters that God subjected Abraham to an ordeal” (Genesis 22:1); “It was after these matters that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph” (Genesis 39:7).
Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: A flax worker, when his flax is hard, he does not beat it very much. Why? Because it will break. When his flax is fine, the more he beats it, the more it improves.
So too, the Holy One blessed be He does not subject the wicked to ordeals, as they cannot withstand it, but he subjects the righteous to ordeals, as it is stated: “The Lord will test the righteous.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: A potter, when he checks his kiln, does not check with the flimsy jugs. Why? Because if he would tap on them they would break.
With which does he check? With the sturdy jugs, as even were he to tap on them several times, they would not break. So too, the Holy One blessed be He does not subject the wicked to ordeals. Whom does He subject to ordeals? The righteous, as it is stated: “The Lord will test the righteous.”