Why We Can’t Know the End: A Torah Perspective on Faith and Suffering

A food factory once donated a large quantity of couscous to a yeshiva, and it quickly became the staple meal for the students over the following months. Morning, noon, and night, the students lived on couscous, until it seemed their stomachs might forget how to digest anything else.

After a full month of this routine, one student approached the cook and asked, “Tell me, what blessing do we make on couscous?”

“Are you new here?” the cook asked.

“No,” the student replied. “I’ve been studying here for three years.”

“Then I don’t understand,” the cook said. “You’ve been eating couscous here for an entire month, and only now you’re asking what blessing to make?”

The student explained: “Look, I know that for something that grows on a tree, we say ‘Who creates the fruit of the tree,’ and for something that grows from the ground, we say ‘Who creates the fruit of the ground.’ But I don’t know what blessing to make on something that’s already coming out of my nose…”

If such a blessing existed, one might say it aloud and together regarding certain frustrations in public life, when things have long since “gone too far.”

Who does not wish to know when such difficult periods will end? More broadly, who does not want to know the end of exile, hardship, and concealment?

Our portion touches on this very idea. Let us take a closer look.

Jacob’s Desire to Reveal the End

Jacob, before his passing, wished to reveal the “end” to his sons — the ultimate redemption, but this knowledge was hidden from him. At that moment, he turned to his sons and asked: “Perhaps there is discord in your hearts regarding God?” They responded: “Hear, O Israel, our father — just as there is no division in your heart regarding God, so too there is none in ours. The Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

Jacob then added a request: “Please, honor God as I and my fathers have honored Him.”

This raises several questions. Why did Jacob wish to reveal the end in the first place? The Sages caution strongly against calculating the time of redemption, lest disappointment lead to despair. Why, then, did Jacob not share that concern? And why did he feel the need at that moment to question his sons’ faith and urge them to serve God as he and his fathers had?

A Parable of Hidden Purpose

Smith was a loyal servant of the king. From a young age, he had served faithfully, eventually becoming one of the king’s most trusted ministers, with access to the most confidential chambers of the kingdom.

However, the king’s deputy was a harsh man. Whenever a servant was sent on a mission, the deputy would make the task more difficult, adding obstacles and complications.

Smith, too, suffered under this system. He remembered being sent on a distant mission without proper resources, forced to travel under harsh conditions. Often, he wondered why the king allowed such treatment, but he remained silent, trusting his master.

One day, Smith entered the archive room and noticed a file labeled “Deputy to the King.” Though he knew it was forbidden, he opened it and discovered a secret agreement: the king had instructed the deputy to deliberately make missions difficult in order to test the loyalty of his servants.

Suddenly, everything made sense. The hardships had a purpose.

Months later, as Smith lay dying, he called his sons, who were also servants of the king, to give them guidance. The king himself arrived, spoke to him privately, and warned him not to reveal the secret.

When his sons entered, all Smith could say was: “Serve the king faithfully, just as I have,” and he passed away.

The Secret of Hardship

God has sent us into this world to fulfill His will. At the same time, He allows challenges and obstacles to arise in order to test our faithfulness, and whether we will continue to serve Him despite difficulty.

This “secret of hardship” is what Jacob wished to reveal to his sons. Not the calculation of the end, but the understanding of how God leads the world during times of darkness and concealment.

In this world, we bless good news with “Who is good and does good,” and bad news with “the true Judge.” But in the World to Come, all will be seen as “good and doing good.” We will understand how even suffering was part of the process that led to redemption.

Learning from Joseph’s Story

Jacob himself came to this realization through the story of Joseph. What initially appeared as tragedy — the descent into Egypt, ultimately became the very means through which redemption unfolded.

Yet God did not allow Jacob to fully reveal this insight. Why? Because He desires that even without understanding, we strengthen our faith and remain loyal in all circumstances.

That is why Jacob refrained from revealing the end and instead focused on his sons’ inner state. “Is there any division in your hearts?” Do you harbor doubt or resentment toward God’s hidden ways?

Only after they affirmed their faith did he instruct them: continue to serve God with devotion, even when faced with difficulty. This is the path through exile.

Looking Toward Redemption

We do not know when the light of redemption will finally dispel the darkness. But when it does, we will look back and bless even the hardships, recognizing them as part of the journey.

Until then, we hold firmly to our trust in God, knowing that everything comes from Him, and that, ultimately, it is all for our good.