Mr. Perfect

The biggest enemy of the Jewish People has always been, regretfully, the Jewish People. Right before Amalek attacked us for the first time, we complained against Hashem. Weeks after witnessing the 10 plagues and the splitting of the sea, Our lack of emuna exposed cracks in our nation which Amalek, with the instincts of a jackal, pounced upon at first sight.

We are commanded to fight Amalek in every generation. The best way to win is to fortify each other where we are weakness. Any vulnerability in our People will attract our worst enemy like red meat to a beast.

The true deadly sin that exposes us is baseless hatred. Rabbi Akiva stated 2,000 years ago that none of us are so righteous that we can look at any Jew and play judge. Now that we are galaxies away from the last generation which lived during the standing of the Temple in Jerusalem, none of us is qualified to hate anyone.

To hate is to become an enemy of the Jewish People. The challenge is immense because we are given thousands of reasons to hate our brothers without being given any defense against it.

Let’s erect one right now.

The Deception

How many times a day do you read about one of our brothers who has it all? While you are struggling with next month’s rent, Mr. Perfect has fame, money, and based on his pictures in the paper, no troubles at all.

Why does he get so much when I get so little? What did he do that I didn’t?

Then it gets worse.  He is an evil man. He stands for everything that goes against Hashem, against His Torah, and against the laws of human decency. He has more but he doesn’t deserve it. We reflect on the injustice of it all and fall into a rage. His very face represents everything repulsive in this world.

We hate with all our heart. If we only remembered the truth . . .

Seeing Through it All

If there is someone on this earth who has it all without a care in the world, pity him. Pray for him. G-d gives us no greater blessing in this world than punishment.

A punishment is a guard rail. Sure, it’s not pleasant to veer off course and get damaged, but what would have happened had that divider not been there and you kept going off a cliff?

It happens all the time.

A punishment, suffering, or any kind of lack in your life is a voice from Heaven guiding you to greatness. Unless you get a tummy ache, how will you know when to stop eating? Unless you start bleeding, how will you know to avoid anything sharp?

A punishment is G-d’s way of saying, stop this and try something else. Don’t take that girl home tonight, spend it learning Torah. Don’t insult that person, it is better for your eternity if you take with a smile.

Mr. Perfect is like the snake. G-d gave the snake dirt to eat so he will never lack. He will never know to cry out to Hashem, he will never know when he is off course because he will never lack anything. Mr. Perfect can pass his star-studded life with everything he always wished for, and never perform a commandment or fulfill any of his purpose. He enters the Next World as empty-handed as he entered this one.

He has no merits. His evil led to the worst fate possible – he was never told he had to improve upon anything. He lived his life in a gold-plated gutter without any light to show him he was surrounded by sewage.

The Greatest Blessing

When something bad happens to us, we pray. We talk to Hashem. We audit our daily actions. The tribulation is the spark. As a result, we come closer to Hashem. We see Him behind everything. We see the futility of this world and gain clarity on what really constitutes achievement.

The repentance stays with us all our life.

What we see on social media is Mr. Perfect having it all while we make due with what we’ve got. The reality is that in Heaven, it’s our profile that is the marquis example while Mr. Perfect gets worse by the moment.

That’s the reality. When you see anyone appearing to have it all without any consequences, pity them and pray for them. Do it every day. Even if you don’t feel anything towards them. The more you pray for them, the more empathy you feel for anyone who appears to have more than you. You will feel less hate, stress, anger, and sadness all your life.

Try it!

You will turn the worst weakness in our nation into our greatest source of strength. You will give the Satan and his Amalekite nation reason to tuck tail and run while we inch closer to Hashem’s Redemption of His People and all who serve Him.

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David Ben Horin is the developer for The Aliyah Boot Camp, an online video course for anyone considering life in Israel. He also wrote The Great Life Hack, a guide to self-greatness by utilizing your deepest passions to get what you want. You can have this for free.