Basya Tsybukmakher
An ancient saying teaches us: “Everything God does is for the best.” And yet, there are difficult situations when it seems that there is no way out, that everything is on fire and everything is slipping out of our hands. Sometimes it is hard to believe that what is happening is really for the best. It is interesting to see how the Jewish Sages behaved in difficult situations. Let us go back in time, to the days of the great sage and righteous man, Rabbi Akiva. Let us open the curtain just a little and see how he faced a test that was sent to him from Heaven.
Rabbi Akiva lived during the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. He was an extraordinary person. He taught others to treat one another with respect, to study Torah, and to know that everything that happens to a person is for the best.
One day, Rabbi Akiva set out on a journey. He took with him a donkey, a rooster, and a candle. The journey was long. The day was coming to an end. The sun was sinking toward the horizon, the colors in the sky were growing darker, and evening was approaching.
Rabbi Akiva began looking for a place to spend the night. He saw a village not far away and decided to stay there. He knocked on one of the doors, but the homeowner refused to let him in. He knocked on another door, but he was refused there as well.
Rabbi Akiva did not become upset, because he knew that everything was for the best.
He knocked on a third door, but no one invited him inside. Even after he went from house to house and saw that none of the villagers was willing to give him a place to sleep, he continued to say:
“Everything God does is for the best.”
He had no choice but to prepare to spend the night in the forest, on the outskirts of the village.
He unloaded the donkey and tied the rooster to a tree. He ate his dinner, lit his candle, and immersed himself in Torah study.
Suddenly, he heard the rustling of leaves and the cry of the donkey. Rabbi Akiva hurried to help the donkey, but it was too late. A lion had torn the donkey apart.
Everything God does is for the best.
After all, he still had the rooster and the candle.
Rabbi Akiva returned to his Torah study. He immersed himself in learning.
Evening came. Lights were being lit one after another in the village houses. Smoke rose from the ovens. Families gathered for dinner. Silence filled the forest. A gentle breeze moved the leaves of the trees.
Suddenly, the rooster cried out—a wild animal had carried it away.
“Never mind,” said Rabbi Akiva. “Everything God does is for the best.”
The lights in the village went out, and the people went to sleep. But Rabbi Akiva continued studying Torah by the light of his candle. This was all he had left.
After some time, a strong wind began to blow and extinguished the candle.
The sage was not upset. He knew with complete certainty that everything God does is for the best.
It was not by chance that the lion had torn apart the donkey, that a wild animal had carried away the rooster, and that the candle had gone out. This was God’s will, even when the reason for what is happening is hidden from us.
Rabbi Akiva went to sleep.
The next morning, he woke with the first rays of sunlight. He prayed and prepared to continue his journey.
Then he smelled the scent of burnt wood.
Rabbi Akiva looked toward the village he had passed by the day before.
Where the village had stood, there was now only a field of ashes.
During the night, a Roman legion had attacked the village, taken all its inhabitants captive, and burned the village to the ground.
If Rabbi Akiva had been welcomed as a guest in one of the houses, the same fate would have awaited him. If his donkey and rooster had still been alive, their sounds might have attracted the attention of the soldiers. And if his candle had remained lit, the soldiers might have noticed him in the forest.
Indeed, “Everything God does is for the best.”
Let us try together to look back at this day. Let us take a close look and see what good things God has given us today. Let us name the things we already have... Do you feel how your heart fills with calm and joy? Every day brings new events, new feelings, and new challenges. It is wonderful when we are able to focus on what we already have, and understand and feel that everything is truly for the best!
Rabbi Akiva lived during the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. He was an extraordinary person. He taught others to treat one another with respect, to study Torah, and to know that everything that happens to a person is for the best.
One day, Rabbi Akiva set out on a journey. He took with him a donkey, a rooster, and a candle. The journey was long. The day was coming to an end. The sun was sinking toward the horizon, the colors in the sky were growing darker, and evening was approaching.
Rabbi Akiva began looking for a place to spend the night. He saw a village not far away and decided to stay there. He knocked on one of the doors, but the homeowner refused to let him in. He knocked on another door, but he was refused there as well.
Rabbi Akiva did not become upset, because he knew that everything was for the best.
He knocked on a third door, but no one invited him inside. Even after he went from house to house and saw that none of the villagers was willing to give him a place to sleep, he continued to say:
“Everything God does is for the best.”
He had no choice but to prepare to spend the night in the forest, on the outskirts of the village.
He unloaded the donkey and tied the rooster to a tree. He ate his dinner, lit his candle, and immersed himself in Torah study.
Suddenly, he heard the rustling of leaves and the cry of the donkey. Rabbi Akiva hurried to help the donkey, but it was too late. A lion had torn the donkey apart.
Everything God does is for the best.
After all, he still had the rooster and the candle.
Rabbi Akiva returned to his Torah study. He immersed himself in learning.
Evening came. Lights were being lit one after another in the village houses. Smoke rose from the ovens. Families gathered for dinner. Silence filled the forest. A gentle breeze moved the leaves of the trees.
Suddenly, the rooster cried out—a wild animal had carried it away.
“Never mind,” said Rabbi Akiva. “Everything God does is for the best.”
The lights in the village went out, and the people went to sleep. But Rabbi Akiva continued studying Torah by the light of his candle. This was all he had left.
After some time, a strong wind began to blow and extinguished the candle.
The sage was not upset. He knew with complete certainty that everything God does is for the best.
It was not by chance that the lion had torn apart the donkey, that a wild animal had carried away the rooster, and that the candle had gone out. This was God’s will, even when the reason for what is happening is hidden from us.
Rabbi Akiva went to sleep.
The next morning, he woke with the first rays of sunlight. He prayed and prepared to continue his journey.
Then he smelled the scent of burnt wood.
Rabbi Akiva looked toward the village he had passed by the day before.
Where the village had stood, there was now only a field of ashes.
During the night, a Roman legion had attacked the village, taken all its inhabitants captive, and burned the village to the ground.
If Rabbi Akiva had been welcomed as a guest in one of the houses, the same fate would have awaited him. If his donkey and rooster had still been alive, their sounds might have attracted the attention of the soldiers. And if his candle had remained lit, the soldiers might have noticed him in the forest.
Indeed, “Everything God does is for the best.”
Let us try together to look back at this day. Let us take a close look and see what good things God has given us today. Let us name the things we already have... Do you feel how your heart fills with calm and joy? Every day brings new events, new feelings, and new challenges. It is wonderful when we are able to focus on what we already have, and understand and feel that everything is truly for the best!