"You got your life as a gift, and you come here with complaints?"

The visitor to the humble home in Zichron Moshe was irate.

“I listened to the Rav, and because I listened, I got such a big ticket, so where is the justice? It seems totally unfair!” he exclaimed, repeating his grievance yet again for emphasis. A few weeks earlier, the visitor had come seeking a brachah from Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz, who told him that he had to be careful about davening tefillah b’tzibbur and the blessings would come as a result.

Rav Gamliel did not hesitate. “You are like an insane person, who runs around with no concept of accountability or responsibility… there is justice and there is a Judge. You were speeding, putting yourself in danger and others in danger. It’s likely that you were not meant to live, and that Hakadosh Baruch Hu — perhaps in the merit of tefillah b’tzibbur — had mercy and spared you, allowing you to fulfill the harsh sentence with a fine and penalty. You got your life as a gift, and you come here with complaints?

“This,” emphasized the mekubal, “is the attitude of one not used to living with an awareness of the Creator and the precision of His judgment. Open your eyes and you will see only rachamim.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 843)