Testing Again

The central point of the month of Tevet, other then the fact it starts on channukah, is not such a happy day. The 10th of Tevet is a fast day in which Jews commemorate the siege of Jerusalem where the Babylonian armies laid a siege on Jerusalem before destroying the first temple. In our generation, the 10th of Tevet is also the day which has been chosen by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel as the day to say kaddish on for the millions of victims of the Holocaust for whom we do not know the day of death.

As the month of Tevet start and the 10th of Tevet comes closer, I thought we should explore together one aspect of how Judaism deals with suffering.

Let me start by quoting a teaching I have heard by Rav Mordechai Elon Shli"ta in the name of Rabbi Natan MiBreslev:
There is a famous teaching in the midrash which explains that God first tried creating the world with din, with the attribute of Judgement, and then realized that the world could not stand and therefore put into it the attribute of Rahamim (mercy). Most commentaries on that midrash as the obvious question: How is it that God could have made a mistake? However, Rabbi Natan, in Likutei Halakhot, asks an even more basic question. He asks:
I can understand that God decided to create the world with Judgement and Mercy. What I can't understand, is how can God even have the Hava Amina (thought) that the world, the way it is today, would be able to withstand some pure judgment? What was he thinking? Why did he want it that way?
Rabbi Natan explained: God told himself, you know there are two ways people can learn lessons. On the one hand, we can explain them nicely and slowly and nicely and slowly. Then slowly slowly they will understand and grow. This is the attribute of Rahamim. However, everyone here knows, with a little bit of hardships, we can learn much more than all the rahamim in the world. Sometimes, a little slap in the fact does more to wake us up than all the nice words.
Rabbi Natan explained that God wants to create the world in a way where everyone who needed a slap in the face would get. Ultimately, this formula would be for our own good. It would shoot us forward towards our final redemption. But the world could not withstand it and God had to combine the attribute of mercy.