HaRav A Y L Shteinman zt"l
Chazal say: "A heavenly voice issues forth with an outburst every day, spreading throughout the world, saying that a tzaddik will make his appearance at one time and his name will be Shmuel." The author of "Ayeles Hashachar", HaRav Shteinman zt"l, often repeated this message, noting the fact that it `bursts forth', not like other heavenly echoes to which only few people on the spiritual level of prophets are privy. This message, he insisted, is meant for every person to hear. It will be a world shaking announcement of the future birth of a tzaddik who will be named Shmuel.
In these times, we are not privileged to hear such a heavenly voice. Nevertheless, we do see events taking place which are awesome and amazing, as powerful as bombshells. What is happening now is terrible and fearsome, people dying of all kinds of illnesses, young ones as well. The situation is critical. What is this? A bombshell, an earthshaking situation.
If we do not contemplate the meaning of it all, we won't know to what it can eventually lead. The gemara Gittin tells us what happened in Tur Malka: on one side of the mountain, people were being slain right and left, while on the opposite slope, people were making merry and feasting.
The situation now is terrible, and yet people blithely tell themselves that it does concern or affect them. I'm O.K. All is well and life goes on exactly as before.
Chazal told us: One should always pray that he not become sick, for if he sickens, he will be charged to bring a merit to acquit him lest he die. People can circulate in good health even if they are riddled with sin and have much to answer for. But Hashem is merciful and patient and continues to grant life and good health. Once a sinner succumbs to ill health, however, he must produce cause for him to regain his health and continue to live on. For such a person, it is difficult to provide good merits.
We hear of people who fell ill for some unknown cause and before long, left this world. This has been thus decreed from Heaven, and Hashem has naturally orchestrated the opportunity to terminate his life. Such a person did not have sufficient merits to warrant his continued existence. We certainly do not understand the calculations of Heaven, why something happened to this person or otherwise. What we must do is acknowledge that everything is carefully Heavenly planned and decreed precisely according to a person's merit, no more or less.
We must bear in mind what the gemara tells us: The whole world is evenly balanced, for the good or the bad. If a person performs a mitzvah, he tilts the entire world to the good side and the more, the better. Consequently, each time a person does a good deed or assumes a positive resolution upon himself, it affects the entire world. Who knows how many sick people would be healed if we prayed a bit more sincerely!
