The esteemed Rabbi Ofer Erez shlit"a in a special lesson delivered to the Shuvu Banim Kollel in Miami. Rabbi Ofer explains how the trials of the forefathers are a strong teaching for us on how to overcome the traits of anger and sadness, and to merit great emunah (faith) and joy of life.

These are his holy words

"In Likutei Halachot, Rabbi Natan writes that the entire work of self-sacrifice of Avraham and the other forefathers is not considered a trial for them, because for the forefathers it was simple to sacrifice themselves for Hashem."

"In the Midrash, they ask, if so, what were the trials of Avraham Avinu, for it is known that he was tested with ten trials."

"Rabbi Natan answers in Likutei Halachot that these were completely different trials, Hashem places the forefathers in situations that are not understood by them. They do not understand Hashem's conduct, and there they are tested whether they accept Hashem's conduct or reject it."

"In Parshat Lech Lecha, Hashem says to Avraham, 'Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house to the land that I will show you' (Genesis 12:1). Avraham and Sarah were great leaders in Haran, 'and the souls they had made in Haran' (ibid. 12:5), and suddenly Hashem asks them to leave everything at the age of 75 (Avraham) and embark on a new path - this was self-sacrifice for Avraham."

"Later in Eretz Yisrael, Hashem reveals Himself several times to Avraham and promises to give the land to his descendants.., Avraham Avinu travels the land and makes many rectifications, and after three or four months, there is a famine in the land. Avraham is forced to go down to Egypt, and during the entire six months that Sarah was with Pharaoh (according to the method of the Chatam Sofer who brings the words of the Rambam), Avraham does not question Hashem."

"And this is his trial, because if Avraham Avinu had complained even a little against Hashem's conduct, he would not have stood in this trial. Rabbi Natan says that the trials of the forefathers, where Hashem shows them a great contradiction in His conduct, and they on their part need to nullify themselves completely to His conduct - there is no question, because everything that Hashem does is for the good."

"Every Jew knows that everything Hashem does is for the good, for Rabbi Akiva said this in the Gemara (Berachot 60b), 'Everything that the Merciful One does is for the good.' But it is important to know that a person is composed of a mind (thoughts) and a heart (emotions), and the heart does not always agree with the claims of the mind."

"Our entire life we work to return to the heart the intellectual knowledge that everything Hashem does is for the good."

"Rabbi Dessler says in 'Michtav Me'Eliyahu', that as long as a person is angry or sad, it indicates the gap between the knowledge of the mind and the feeling of the heart. Because someone who is at 100% emunah is not angry or sad, he knows that everything Hashem does is for the good, so why be angry at the goodness of Hashem?"

"Because internally, every anger at something in the world is actually anger at Hashem - not agreeing with His conduct. Rabbi Dessler says that we are embarrassed to come directly to Hashem and blame Him if something does not work out for us, instead, we blame someone in this world: the wife, the friends, the children at home, the boss at work..."

"To strengthen the feeling of the heart that everything Hashem does is for the good, in the trials we go through, we need to tell ourselves: it is really unpleasant, the situation I am in is difficult, but I strengthen myself in the knowledge that even this - everything is for the good."

"The effort to strengthen the knowledge that everything Hashem does is for the good strengthens this trait within us."