Faith
"Do Not Bring Me Into the Hands of Trial, or Into the Hands of Humiliation"
Question
Shalom aleichem, honored Rabbi.
I have a question: If in the World to Come a person receives his reward because he stood up to the trials of this world and prevailed, and the more trials he withstands, the greater his reward will be, then why do we pray every morning, "Do not bring me into the hands of trial"? After all, life is full of trials, which is the evil inclination. What is the meaning of this request? If there are no trials, on what basis will the reward be determined? Should it not have said only, "Do not bring me into the hands of humiliation"?
Thank you very much, honored Rabbi
Answer
Hello,
It is indeed true that through a person overcoming trials, he merits to become stronger, but there are also people who do not withstand trials and fail. Therefore, we pray to Hashem to save us from trials, since we do not want to face a trial in which, Heaven forbid, we would fail. And Hillel the Elder already said in Pirkei Avot, "Do not trust yourself until the day of your death," for no person can be so certain that he is protected from failure and sin. Therefore, we must pray to Hashem to save us from trials.
With blessings,
Eran ben Yishai
