How Do We Deal with Evil? (part 3)
Chazal say (Berachot 5) that three things are only acquired via suffering - Torah, Eretz Yisrael, and Olam Haba. Is suffering bad? Why is there a need to suffer in order to merit these three gifts? What is the difference between עונש (punishment), אתגר (challenge), ניסיון (trial), and ייסורין (suffering)?
Avraham's ten tests (ניסיונות) weren't punishments, they were opportunities for Avraham to lift himself up. A challenge is when you go outside your comfort zone of your own volition.
The question we have to train ourselves to ask is not simply why but what - what can I do.
Why are commanded to remember being slaves in Egypt, not to feel bad about suffering but for a purpose - to be able to empathize with the convert, to treat slaves humanely (דברים טו), to be honest with weights and measures (ויקרא יט), etc.
Delivered at the OU Israel Center, May 30th, 2019 (25 Iyyar 5779)