PARSHAT DEVARIM – CHALLENGES · Sukkat Shalom B'nei Noach

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Parashat Devarim

Within each challenge and suffering there is a deep show of love from G-d toward us. What is the explanation for this? What is the connection to the 9th of Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar? Based on Likkutei Sichot, vol. 2, p. 359

The Hidden Light Within Challenges and Suffering

Why do we experience challenges, problems, and suffering? Why does life sometimes seem filled with moments of pain and difficulty?

A classical Jewish answer teaches that within every challenge there is a powerful and holy light, an energy so profound that it can only be reached through the struggle itself. The difficulty is not meaningless; it contains a hidden opportunity for growth, transformation, and a deeper connection with G-d.

To understand this idea better, let us explore several stories and teachings from the Torah.

Moses’ Final Rebuke

This week’s Torah portion, Devarim (“Words”), opens the fifth and final book of the Torah. During the last thirty-seven days of his life, Moses repeats the Torah to the Jewish people and begins with words of rebuke. He reminds them of their mistakes, their failures, and the times they did not live according to G-d’s will.

At first glance, this seems harsh. Why begin with criticism?

The answer is that rebuke is meant to prepare the people to enter the Land of Israel and live in a higher and more meaningful way. This is also why we read this portion before Tisha B’Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, when we mourn the destruction of both Temples and many other tragedies throughout Jewish history.

The message is clear: sometimes pain and correction are preparations for something greater.

Abraham’s Covenant and the Promise of Suffering

When G-d made His covenant with Abraham, He expressed His deep love for him and promised that his descendants would become a great nation.

Yet in the very same conversation, G-d revealed that Abraham’s descendants would first become strangers in a foreign land and would suffer greatly.

Why mention suffering during such a beautiful moment of love and promise?

The answer lies in a profound spiritual principle: the deepest expressions of divine love often come hidden within periods of challenge and exile.

The Mystery of the Cherubim

A similar idea appears during one of the darkest moments in Jewish history: the destruction of the Second Temple.

Inside the Holy of Holies were the Keruvim—two angelic figures. Miraculously, their position reflected the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people. When the people followed G-d’s ways, the angels faced and embraced one another. When the people turned away, the figures turned apart.

Yet when the Romans entered the Temple at the moment of its destruction, they found the Keruvim embracing.

How could this be? The Temple was being destroyed because of the people’s sins. Why would the angels be showing love at that very moment?

The answer is extraordinary: even in the deepest darkness, G-d’s love for His people remains. In fact, at the moment of greatest concealment, a deeper and more profound love is being prepared.

The Teacher and the Student

Imagine a teacher giving a fascinating lesson. Suddenly, an entirely new and brilliant idea enters his mind. He stops speaking and becomes silent, concentrating deeply.

The student becomes anxious.

“Why did my teacher stop? Why isn’t he talking to me anymore?”

But the teacher has not abandoned the student. He has paused because he has discovered something even greater that he wants to share. First, he must understand it himself.

The silence is not rejection. It is preparation.

Or think of a father playing with his child and covering his face.

“Where is Daddy?” the child cries.

Then suddenly the father reveals himself again, and the joy of reunion becomes even greater because there was first a moment of concealment.

The Meaning of Exile

This is the meaning of Galut, exile.

Exile is a period when G-d seems hidden. It can feel as though He is silent or distant. Yet according to Jewish thought, this concealment is not abandonment. It is preparation for a greater revelation of divine love.

This is why the Keruvim embraced during the destruction of the Temple. The destruction itself contained the seeds of redemption.

This is also why G-d spoke of suffering during His covenant with Abraham. Even exile and hardship are part of a greater journey toward a deeper relationship with Him.

The Hidden Energy in Our Challenges

The same principle applies to our personal lives.

Whenever we encounter challenges, problems, or suffering, we should remember that there may be a hidden and holy energy waiting to be uncovered.

The challenge invites us to dig deeper—within ourselves and within the situation. Often, beneath the pain lies growth, wisdom, strength, or a new level of understanding that could not have been reached otherwise.

The struggle itself may be the doorway to a greater light.

Tisha B’Av and the Birth of Redemption

Tisha B’Av is one of the saddest days of the year, yet Jewish tradition teaches something remarkable: it is also the day on which Messias is born.

In other words, on the very day of destruction, the possibility of redemption is already present.

This teaches us one of the deepest truths of Jewish spirituality:

Within every darkness lies the seed of light. Within every challenge lies hidden love. Within every moment of concealment lies the possibility of revelation.

The deepest expressions of G-d’s love are sometimes hidden inside the very difficulties we struggle to understand.

Good Shabbos.

Vortrag von Rabbi Tuvia Serber

Die obige Darstellung zeigt den gesprochenen Text, der in geschriebenen Text umgewandelt wurde.

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