What Einstein and the Gemara Can Teach Us About Life's Biggest Roadblocks

There is a phenomenon in the universe that sounds like a mistake. The huge obstacle blocking our view is exactly what allows us to see what is behind it. And not just to see, to see further and more clearly than we were ever able to without it. Einstein understood that a very massive body doesn't just pull things toward it, it curves space itself around it. And in 1919, during a total solar eclipse, this was proven. Light from distant stars curved around [music] the sun. The mass bent the light. And here the miracle happens. A giant galaxy standing between us and a distant galaxy behind it does not [music] hide it. It bends its light around it and acts as a giant lens that magnifies it. Thanks to these obstacles, astronomers have seen the most distant galaxies ever observed. Galaxies that, without the obstruction, [music] we would never have known existed. Friends, how many of us are standing in front of an obstacle that blocks our entire view? >> [music] >> An illness, a layoff, a door that slammed shut, a plan that fell apart. We look at it and see only one thing, what it prevented us from having, the life that was supposed to be and isn't. And this is precisely what the Gemara tells us about Nahum Ish Gamzu. He was sent with a chest of precious stones to the emperor, [music] and during the night, they stole them and filled the chest with dirt. The emperor opened it, saw dirt, and was furious. And all Nahum said was, "This too is for the best." >> [music] >> And then it turned out the dirt was the dust of Abraham our forefather, which turns into arrows. The emperor tested it in battle and conquered a country with it that he hadn't been [music] able to conquer for years. He filled Nahum's chest with treasures and sent him off with honor. The theft was not an obstacle to the mission, it was the mission itself. [music] This is exactly the secret of gravitational lensing. The obstacle is not just something that needs to be survived. Sometimes it is the lens. It is what bends our gaze, magnifies it, and shows us things that without it, we wouldn't even [music] know existed. What blocked and what allowed us to see. Faith is not a denial of the difficulty. We see it and it is heavy. Faith is knowing that the heavy mass standing before us does not just block, it bends reality in such a way that we can see through it to a distance we would never have reached otherwise. So, next time something huge blocks our path and we only see what it has taken, let's pause. Let's not rush to conclude that we have lost. Let's remember that right in front of us stands a lens and behind it waits a light that only through it and only now can we finally see.