Beneath The Narrow Bridge

Any love that depends on a specific cause, when that cause is gone, the love is gone; but if it does not depend on a specific cause, it will never cease.  Pirkei Avot (5:9)
 
There is never a question whether or not we will fall upon hard times. It's a guarantee. We learn in the Gemara that if we do not experience some sort of tribulation over any forty days, we should be worried.
 
Therein lies a special chance to express our love for Hashem.
 
A shrinking bank account, a jilted heart, a stalled career path, problems finding friends or a soul mate, or any type of hardship in general are the best ways we can reassert our trust in G-d.
 
When times are good gratitude comes easy. The “cause” for our love is ever apparent. When times harden, removing the “cause” to appreciate our Father in Heaven, our love for Hashem can become unconditional. It’s free, no longer contingent upon any pleasure in this world. This is the silver lining shining through the cloud of hard times. Hashem is giving us a test – and a chance to experience the supernal joy that comes with passing it.
 
We have been granted a period of tremendous spiritual progress in our lives. Our primary objective in this world is to prepare for the Next World. When hard times fall upon us we should jump for joy!
 
I am not trying to downplay another’s hardships. If someone is going through emotional trauma it demands our compassion and kindness. Yet many of our challenges in life are not as severe as we think. A problem with our job means we have a job and can feed our family. Troubles in finding a mate mean we are healthy enough to look. No matter how troubling a situation, we live in relative safety where our basic physical security is guaranteed by the stability of whichever country we live in.
 
My wife always says that G-d doesn't hit with two sticks!
 
All of us struggle. All of us do everything we can to better our situation. While we are doing so, if we bemoan our fate we are implying that we love Hashem as long as He buys us a diamond bracelet and comes with good tidings.
 
We are commanded to thank G-d for the bad as well as the good because everything He does for us is for our own benefit – we just haven’t seen the missing pieces yet. It's so tempting to be upset during prayers, or to approach a learning session with sluggishness when times are tough.
 
This is the test.
 
We learn from Rebbe Nachman that the entire world is a narrow bridge and the challenge is not to be afraid.
 
The chasm beneath that bridge is the pit of worry and uncertainty. It is the dark side trying to convince us that if times get tough, there is no justice in this world. If we experience bad things, then there is no good in this existence.
 
The canyon of agnosticism is trying to lure us to the mistake that G-d isn’t here. Sure, He exists, but for the moment His eyes are turned somewhere else. As long as He isn’t looking and everyone else is taking advantage, why not us?
 
Our bridge is steadfast Emuna. It is the path we create when we reassert that Hashem’s eyes are beamed right on us – now more than ever. It is a narrow structure that we reinforce every time we smile at someone knowing that they don’t like us. We make it stronger each time we are honest in the face of deception, humble in the face of brazenness, and focused in the face of worry.
 
It is the narrow path of life that we march across with the excitement of what awaits us on the other side once the test is over and we’ve made it.
 
So the next time we are walking towards the Shul and all we can think about is the stock market, or the phone bill, or whether or not she enjoyed getting to know you last night, stand up to the world! Promise Hashem you will put extra special focus in your prayers. Make every effort to say to the Heavens that you are not concerned at all with anything in your world because G-d is taking care of me and He is all we need to concern ourselves with, now and forever.
 
 
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Dovber Halevi is the author of the financial book, How to Survive the Coming Decade of Anxiety. He writes for Breslev Israel and The Middle East Magazine. He lives with his wife and two children in Eretz Yisrael.