Gevald or Gevaldik

Chaim Yankel was beside himself. He phoned the police to report that thieves had been in his beloved car.

"Gevald! They've stolen the dashboard, the steering wheel, the brake pedal, even the accelerator," he moaned.

Five minutes later the phone at the police station rang again. It was Chaim Yankel.

"Gevaldik!" Chaim Yankel exclaimed joyfully. "I just realized I got in the back seat by mistake."

***

The Ba'al Shem Tov teaches that the forty-two journeys that the B'nei Yisroel traveled between Mitzrayim and Eretz Yisroel are a metaphor for the journeys that are traveled by a Yid throughout his lifetime.

The question is asked: some of the journeys involved events that were displeasing to Hashem, and some were outright acts of rebellion against Him. How can we say that also these negative-experience journeys are a part of The Plan?

Chassidus explains that each stop (and journey), possessed a G-dly power with which to utilize the time spent there as a positive, uplifting experience.

Even the stops at which negative occurrences took place, possessed the potential to be positive experiences. Yet, it was through the Yidden's poor choices, and the way they reacted to the circumstances, that some of these potentially powerful and transformative opportunities turned into destructive, even catastrophic events.

***

When arriving at a challenging, "Gevald!" juncture in life, no matter how negative the circumstances may present themselves to be, we know that hidden therein is a G-dly energy, giving us the power to transcend the obvious difficulties and transform the event into a "Gevaldik!" one. 

And even at those times in life when we fall into the back seat of the car, and everything seems dark, lost and hopeless, we still rest assured knowing that Hashem is still driving.

How Gevaldik is that?

Based on Likkutei Sichos Vol 4, Parshas Masei

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