Each new nisayon is another opportunity to achieve chein

These are the generations of Noach; Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noach walked with Hashem. (Bereishis 6:9)

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oach’s described here as a tzaddik. Yet the pasuk before this (6:8) says, “Noach found chein, favor, in the eyes of Hashem.” How does one attain chein? Does it make one into a tzaddik?

The Ohr HaChaim explains that there are perhaps three or four mitzvos that are conduits of chein.

We’d all want to perform the mitzvos that grant us chein, but we don’t know what they are!

Some explain that the answer’s hinted in the words, “in the eyes of Hashem.”

Whether he was going through hard times or good times, Noach knew that all was “with Hashem’s eyes,” with Hashem’s Hashgachah. Because of this bitachon, he found chein in Hashem’s eyes.

The Ben Ish Chai adds that the word bitachon is comprised of two words: chein-tov. Through bitachon, one merits chein and goodness.

The Chareidim writes that Noach was always calm and tranquil and this attitude found favor with Hashem. (Rav Elimelech Biderman, Torah Wellsprings)

The app was fairly simple, and my cousin was having a grand time showing me how it worked. “See, I take any photo of my face, and then I can change it to see how I’ll look decades from now. That’s me!” She showed me the results, and we started to giggle.

I was on a recent trip to the States, and while I’d been hoping to have a more in-depth conversation with my cousin, this was still entertaining.

I wondered what I’d look like 30 years from now? For that matter, if I’d used the app 30 years ago, would it come out looking like me now?

That night I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Those two lines etched between my eyebrows were definitely not there 30 years ago. What did they symbolize? Why did I have Worry Lines when I struggle so hard to avoid that activity?

Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Who looks the calmest of them all?

Someone complained to Rebbe Mendel of Vitebsk that whenever he passed a nisayon, he was confronted with another.

The Rebbe explained that each test he passes, creates, kiveyachol, a garment for Hashem. People don’t like to always wear the same clothing, and kiveyachol, Hashem also wants new clothing.

Each new nisayon is another opportunity to achieve chein.

The next morning I stopped by a printing store to make a copy of the framed picture my mother had of her cousin, Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg ztz”l. As I removed the large glossy photo from the frame, the non-Jewish clerk exclaimed, “Who is that holy man? His face is shining!”

Yes, Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg did have a shining countenance. As did his father-in-law, the illustrious Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztz”l. As did Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel ztz”l, Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg ztz”l, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky ztz”l, and so many more gedolim. Yet, these tzaddikim were leaders of the kahal. They had the problems of the world resting on their shoulders. Still, anxiety never manifested itself on their faces. They knew just Where to send their worries.

A father asked his son to get out of the car to check if the blinkers were working. The son called, “They’re working. Not working. Working. Not working.”

Similarly, when it comes to avodas Hashem, we have to expect ups and downs. The Chozeh of Lublin says that if a person finds his avodas Hashem simple and easy, without struggles and tests, that’s a sign that something’s wrong with his avodas Hashem.

A person can serve Hashem outwardly by habit and routine. That’s not that hard. But it’s when we struggle to serve Him and trust that everything is in His Hashgachah that we merit chein.

You get to be my age (undisclosed!) and you start thinking. How have I gotten to this age? What have I done with my life? What can I still do?

It’s not about the wrinkles or lack thereof. They don’t represent the true struggles of life and growth. If I had an app that showed me 30 years from now, would my accomplishments, my emunah in Hashem, be reflected within my essence?

Perhaps I need to develop a new app:

Mirror, Mirror of my soul. How have I grown, become more whole?

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 916)