“We receive gifts from heaven, and they are always positive, even though at first glance, that is not always apparent.
Sometimes we must give them a second or even a third look before we are able to learn how to relate to them as gifts from God.
Although this explanation does not solve a person’s pain, it removes his sadness.
Although it does not resolve the problems, it removes his worries.
The sadness that a person feels comes from his perception that God has treated him unfairly, and that feeling must be eliminated.
A person can do so when he sees suffering not as a punishment but as a reward—even if it is hard to accept and even if it takes some time to learn how to relate to it.
Worry comes from thinking, What will the future bring? What if it will be even worse?
This question can be resolved when one realizes that the good will not necessarily be revealed immediately.
It may, in fact never be revealed, for some gifts appear good and others simply not.”
From Learning from the Tanya, pp. 288–89, by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
