Dear friends,
This week I met a friend for coffee, and she shared an unbelievable story that not only inspired me but felt like living proof of a truth I’ve always known but rarely see so clearly.
Her brother-in-law was diagnosed with a serious form of skin cancer on his shin. Surgery was scheduled immediately, but right before the operation, he developed a severe, scaly, and incredibly painful rash. It was so inflamed that the doctor was unable to operate. What followed were long months filled with discomfort, frustration, and constant worry. He tried treatment after treatment, searching for relief, all the while knowing that the cancer was still lurking in the background.
Finally, one doctor prescribed an ointment that slowly started to heal the rash. When he returned for the rescheduled surgery, the surgeon examined him and paused. Tests confirmed the unthinkable:
The cancer had completely disappeared!
The doctors explained that the body had launched such an intense immune response that the “miserable” rash was actually the very process through which the cancer was destroyed. The ‘’miserable’’ problem was actually the cure.
I haven’t stopped thinking about it. It brought to life this idea I’ve always known to be true but struggle to internalize, that sometimes the very challenge we resist and protest is the one protecting or strengthening us. But this time, I got to see it in the clearest, most literal way.
This connects so beautifully with this week’s Torah portion, Vayigash. Over the past few weeks we’ve been reading the story of Yosef and his brothers; how Yosef was sold into slavery, torn from his home, wrongly imprisoned, and exiled. From the outside, his life looked like one tragedy after another. Years later, during a famine, his brothers who didn’t recognize him, came to Egypt to beg for food. In a very emotional moment, Yosef finally revealed who he was. Instead of bitterness, he offered perspective: that what had seemed unbearably painful was part of a greater plan that ultimately saved his entire family.
Sometimes the struggle is the blessing, but we only see it later.
We don’t always get to understand why certain things show up in our lives. Sometimes it just plain hurts. But when we remember that there is a loving G-d behind the scenes, rooting for us, always wanting the best for us, it empowers us to endure and handle the challenge. And every so often, we’re gifted with a glimpse behind the curtain, like in this incredible story and the story of Yosef. It strengthens us to trust more during all the moments when we can’t yet see the blessing.