Living in a World of Hashem’s Kindness - Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

One morning, Yossi woke up and everything was blurry in front of his eyes. He rubbed his eyes. Must be tired, he thought, but [music] the blur didn't go away. A few hours later, the doctor looked deep into his [music] eye and his face turned serious. This may be endophthalmitis, a severe infection of the eye. You could lose your vision. You need to see a top specialist immediately. Within hours, Yossi was on a plane to America. The specialist examined him and tested and finally said the words that no one ever wants to hear, "I'm sorry. We can't save this eye. And if we don't remove it immediately, the infection could spread to the other eye. You will be left blind." The doctor gave him 1 day to decide. Yossi left the hospital and wandered the streets in shock until he found a small shul. He went into the shul and he stood in front of the Aron Kodesh and he cried and he cried and he cried. And then suddenly, something changed inside him. "Hashem," he said, "thank you. Thank you for letting me see your beautiful world for 35 years. Thank you for the sunsets. Thank you for being able to see my beautiful wife and children, for seeing the letters of your holy Torah, for every single thing I was able to see. Thank you. I don't want to ask you for anything. I just want to say thank you." This was the first time that Yossi had really recognized what the gift of sight is. For an over an hour, he stood there thanking Hashem for everything he'd never fully appreciated. The following morning, he went back to the doctor ready for surgery. The doctor examined him once again and then he called another specialist into the room. The two doctors stared silently into Yossi's eye and finally the doctor said, "I don't understand this. I don't understand what I'm seeing, but the infection is healing. I don't think you need surgery. And baruch Hashem, the eye recovered completely. That Shabbat, Yosef spoke about his ordeal in shul. A year and a half later, a man approached him in Eretz Yisrael. "I was in that shul that Shabbat and I heard your story," he said. "At that time, I had two unmarried daughters. One was 27, the other 29. We'd almost given up hope. So, one day I sat down with a sefer Tehillim and instead of asking Hashem for shidduchim, I just thanked him. Thank you for my beautiful daughters. Thank you they're healthy. Thank you they're kind. Thank you, Hashem, for everything, everything you've already given me." He paused and he said, "Today, they're both married." Now, you might think this is a miracle story about the power of hakaras hatov, of gratitude. But that's not what this story is about. Not all of us merit near open [music] miracles. Sometimes, Hashem's judgment is that we won't [music] get what we want. Hakaras hatov isn't a way of, so to speak, twisting Hashem's arm to get what you want. Hakaras hatov puts you in a world of gratitude where everything is Hashem's kindness. Hakaras hatov changes the world you live in. You're not living anymore in a world of lacking, be it actual or potential. You're living in a world surrounded by Hashem's infinite kindness. You have everything. You recognize that whatever happens is for the good, whether it's revealed or hidden. It's not problems that break a person. It's the failure to contextualize them. Everything you send me, [music] Hashem, is chesed kol hayom, kindness all the day.