Parashat Nitzavim: How Can We Find Joy Even in Difficult Times?

“And it shall be, when all these things come upon you—the blessing and the curse that I have set before you—and you take them to heart among all the nations where Hashem, your God, has dispersed you” (Deuteronomy 30:1).

Why does the verse say “all these things”? Why not simply say, “when the blessing and the curse that I have set before you come upon you”?

What do these seemingly unnecessary words teach us?

The Or HaChaim HaKadosh asks this very question:

“‘And it shall be, when all these things come upon you,’ and so on. We need to understand why it was necessary to say ‘all these things,’ rather than simply saying, ‘when the blessing and the curse that I have set before you come upon you.’”

His answer reveals a powerful lesson about the way a person should respond not only to the blessings in life, but also to times of difficulty.

Accepting the Good and the Difficult

The Or HaChaim HaKadosh connects the verse to an explicit halacha taught in the Gemara: “A person is obligated to make a blessing over bad news just as he makes a blessing over good news.”

This does not mean that we recite the same blessing over hardship as we do over good fortune. Rather, the Gemara teaches that a person should accept difficult circumstances with the same recognition that they, too, come from Hashem.

The Or HaChaim HaKadosh explains:

“Perhaps this follows the teaching of our sages in Tractate Berachot (54a): A person is obligated to make a blessing over bad news just as he makes a blessing over good news. And the Gemara explains it (there, 60b) as accepting bad news with joy, in the same way that one rejoices over good news.”

Why Does the Torah Say “All These Things”?

The expression “and it shall be” is associated with joy. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh therefore reads the verse as teaching that when “all these things” come upon a person, both the blessing and the curse, they should ultimately be accepted with joy.

Just as we recognize Hashem when life brings blessing, we are called upon to recognize Him even when life brings difficulty.

This explains why the Torah specifically uses the words “all these things.”

Had the verse simply said, “And it shall be, when the blessing and the curse that I have set before you come upon you,” we might have understood the expression of joy as referring only to the blessing. The word “curse” could then be read as belonging to the next part of the sentence, “that I have set before you.”

The Or HaChaim HaKadosh explains:

“And this is why it says ‘and it shall be,’ which is an expression of joy (Bereishit Rabbah 42:3): when all these things come upon you, accept them with joy, equating the blessing and the curse together.

“For if it had said, ‘when the blessing and the curse that I have set before you come upon you,’ the verse would have been understood this way: ‘and it shall be,’ meaning joy, when the blessing comes upon you; while the word ‘and the curse’ would continue with the statement that follows, ‘that I have set before you,’ and I would not know that the statement ‘and it shall be’ also refers to the curse.”

Recognizing Hashem in Everything

By first referring to the blessing and the curse together as “all these things,” the Torah connects both of them to the words “and it shall be.”

The message is profound. It is natural to recognize Hashem’s goodness when life unfolds the way we hoped. The greater challenge is to maintain that awareness when we encounter hardship.

The Or HaChaim HaKadosh teaches that both experiences come from Hashem. The Torah therefore calls on us to accept not only the obvious blessings with joy, but also the difficult moments, trusting that they, too, are part of His plan.