Daily Chizuk #1676

Parashat Ki Tetzeh: Seeing Beneath the Surface
In this world, there is so much more than meets the eye. Things may appear to be one way, when in fact they are completely the opposite.
Nothing should be taken at face value. Hashem is very deep, the Torah is very deep, and we are charged to use all our wisdom to see through the surface and try to understand on deeper levels. In this week's parashah Ki Tetzeh, the Torah teaches us about the mitzvah of shiluach hakan — sending away the mother bird before taking the eggs.
The Torah promises a reward: lema'an yitav lach veha'arachta yamim — "that it will be good for you and you will have long life." Yet the Gemara tells of a boy who listened to his father — a mitzvah that also promises long life — and went to perform shiluach hakan. Tragically, he fell off the ladder and died. Where was the long life that the Torah promised?
Our rabbis teach that "long life" in these pesukim is not to be taken at face value. It refers to life in the World to Come.
Everything that happens to us is chesed Hashem. It may not always seem that way, but with emunah, we can always view it that way.
Shabbat Shalom!