In our parsha (ch. 33:. 18), Moshe Rabbeinu pleaded to Hashem: “And now, if I have indeed found favor in Your eyes, make Your ways known to me.” The Gemara (Berachot 7) explains that this verse teaches us that Moshe said to Hashem: “Master of the Universe, what is the reason that there are righteous people for whom things are good, and there are righteous people for whom things are bad, and there are wicked people for whom things are good, and there are wicked people for whom things are bad?” And as Rav Chizkiyahu Eliezer Kahan seems to explain, Moshe asked these questions because he wished to understand Hashem’s ways.
The chapter concludes with Hashem saying to Moshe, “You will see My back, but My face may not be seen.” The Gemara (ibid.) explains that the words, “You will see My back,” teaches that Hashem showed Moshe the knot of tefillin (the Gemara earlier teaches that Hashem wears tefillin). The Gemara (ibid., 6) also teaches that the verse, “And who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the land,” is written in the tefillin of Hashem. According to this, as Rav Kahan seems to explain, by showing His tefillin to Moshe, Hashem was essentially responding to Moshe that if a person has questions on Hashem’s hashgacha, he should see—he should be aware of the fact—that Hashem puts on tefillin within which it is written, “And who is like Your people, etc.” which expresses Hashem’s affection for Am Yisrael and that He praises them. Through this awareness, it will become clear to Am Yisrael that whatever Hashem does to them is for their own benefit, even if they may not understand it (seen in M’shulchan Govohah, Ki Tisa).
We perhaps see from here that on some level, even Moshe Rabbeinu—as great as he was and as close as he was to Hashem—could not fully grasp and understand Hashem’s ways. It might be suggested that Hashem’s response to Moshe included that while we may not be able to understand Hashem’s ways, it is imperative to focus on having faith that He loves us, and that everything He does, He does for the best. This can perhaps teach us that we have the ability to utilize and maintain such faith and trust in Hashem even during difficult and challenging times.
The Chatam Sofer seems to explain the verse, “You will see My back, but My face may not be seen” as follows: Upon witnessing certain events that occur, we might become bewildered, thinking, “Why did Hashem do such a thing?” However, later in life, after much time passes and we experience a positive outcome, in retrospect we will be able to see and understand that the purpose of all those perplexing events and happenings were to bring this great outcome to fruition. This is what occurred in the Purim story with Esther being taken and given over to Achashverosh, and all the other events that occurred then—all of them were preparations to bring about the rescue of the Jews. Yet, before we see the great outcome, we don’t understand the preparatory events, but rather we believe that Hashem has a reason for it. Thus, the verse could be understood as follows: “You will see My back,” meaning, after the purpose and outcome has been brought about, in retrospect you will see and understand the [perplexing] events that occurred in the past. “But My face may not be seen,” meaning, but before the outcome has been brought about, you will not see or understand the purpose of all those [perplexing] events (See Torat Moshe, Ki Tisa).
Based on this Chatam Sofer we can perhaps say that while we (and as mentioned above, possibly also Moshe Rabbeinu) may not be capable of understanding the difficulties that we or our brethren might endure, nevertheless, even during such difficult and challenging times we have the ability to maintain our faith and trust in Hashem that He has a plan and great purpose in what He does and is doing the best for us.
While emunah may keep us strong during difficult times, another component that may aid us through the process may be the quality of patience. Rav Eliyahu Chaim Cohen quotes the Chafetz Chaim who seems to say the following: In the end, a person will understand that Hashem did everything for his own good. The day will come, where every person will see with his eyes and understand that it was the goodness of Hashem that accompanied him throughout his life. While some may merit to see this within a short amount of time, for others it may take many years to see it. The problem is that people lack patience and thus wish to see everything immediately… (Seen in Otzrot Peninei Hatorah, Ki Tisa).
Even if we can’t understand many of the events of life, increasing our faith in Hashem and exercising patience, can, perhaps, give us the strength and fortitude to persevere through challenges with courage and resilience.
Binyamin is a graduate of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, and Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
