Introduction: The Chapter of Consolation Within the Lamentation
Chapter 3 of Megillat Eicha is the chapter in which the author transitions from lamentation to contemplation. After describing the profound depth of suffering, he turns to teach us how to relate to it: what hope is, what faith is, what trust (bitachon) is, and why suffering is specifically an expression of divine mercy. The passage before us - from the verses "Hashem is good to those who wait for Him" to "For He does not afflict from His heart" - is the very heart of the teachings of bitachon in the Megillah.
"Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened to Me" - Reb Zusha and Blessing Over Misfortune
There is a story of a man who came to the Maggid of Mezritch and asked: Rebbe, how are we to understand the words of the Gemara that a person is obligated to make a blessing over misfortune just as he makes a blessing over good - to accept it with joy? Is such a thing even possible, to accept troubles with joy? It would be enough if one could merely sit in solitude and be silent, but to rejoice and give thanks? The Maggid told him: I have a disciple, Reb Zusha, go and ask him. Now, Reb Zusha was afflicted with intense suffering and poverty. The man arrived, knocked on the door, and saw the utter destitution in which he lived. He posed the question to him. Reb Zusha replied: I am sorry, but I think you have come to the wrong address. Such a question should be asked of someone who knows what bad is, who has experienced misfortune - he could tell you how to bless over misfortune just as one blesses over good. But as for me, nothing bad has ever happened to me in my life! How could I possibly answer you? And with that, the man received precisely the answer he needed.
Look and reflect: a person is situated amidst all the hardship and pain of this world, yet in the face of all this he says, "Nothing bad has ever happened to me." This shows that "evil" exists primarily in a person's mindset. Everything depends on how you perceive things.
Two Women After Surgery
Two women emerge from an operating room. One comes out with a smile and the other with tears. What is the difference? One underwent surgery to remove a tumor, while the other underwent a cesarean section to deliver a baby. The one who had the cesarean section gives thanks to Hashem: what immense joy, You brought forth new life! But the one who underwent surgery to remove a tumor weeps: Why did I have to go through all this? Wouldn't it have been better if Hashem had spared me from the tumor in the first place, instead of having to endure surgery, suffering, pain, and recovery?
A senior surgeon was once asked: "Is this a minor surgery?" He replied: "Get that out of your mind. There is no such thing as minor surgery. There is only surgery that is more difficult, and surgery that is less difficult." A person who underwent a "minor surgery" related that this is what he heard directly from the professor. Thus, for anyone who undergoes surgery, the question is what comes out of it. If a tumor was removed, he thanks Hashem that he is no longer suffering, yet despite that, he wishes he had never needed the whole ordeal. By contrast, an expectant mother who knows that the only way to deliver her child is through this procedure is filled with joy.
Only One with Spiritual Aspirations Understands Suffering
What do we learn from this? When a person's aspirations are spiritual, he understands the purpose of suffering; and when he understands its purpose, he realizes that he should rejoice in it, for it is for his ultimate good. As the Vilna Gaon explained: were it not for suffering, we would not find our hands and feet in the World of Truth on the Day of Judgment. For a person would be confronted: with so many sins and so few mitzvot, how do you expect to be vindicated in judgment? But because we have endured hardship and suffering in this world, those afflictions cleanse and purge our iniquities.
It turns out that only a more spiritually oriented person is capable of seeing that everything that happens here in this world is for the good. In contrast, a material, earthly person asks: Why must there be suffering? Why am I in pain? Why can I not simply enjoy myself, eat well, and sleep well? He seeks only the physical pleasures of this world, and therefore he cannot see the good.
טוֹב יְהֹוָה לְקֹוָו לְנֶפֶשׁ תִּדְרְשֶׁנּוּ׃ (כה) - Hashem is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. (25)
Who sees good in everything that happens here in the world? Who says "Hashem is good" even amid troubles and suffering? - "To those who hope in Him," to one who places his hope in Hashem. But one who hopes for material pleasures and worldly desires says to you: What is good? Look, I am overdrawn at the bank; look, I cannot satisfy this desire or that one. He cannot see that "Hashem is good."
And who is considered one who hopes in Hashem? One for whom "the soul seeks Him" - whose entire seeking in this world is to attain the good of the soul. Such a person, who does not chase after pleasures and physical desires, knows that even bad things, even suffering, even whatever appears as physical and material loss - from the perspective of the soul, they refine him and elevate him, and consequently he sees good in everything. But one for whom it is not "the soul seeks Him" but "the body seeks Him," who pursues bodily pleasures, says: What good is there here? Look, I am suffering from this, I have a problem here, I suffered a financial loss there. He cannot see all the good in this world.
Lechem Dimah: What Are You Hoping For?
The Lechem Dimah brings an additional explanation: It is possible for a person to hope that Hashem will save him materially - that he will have a villa, a car, a lucrative business that brings in profit with little effort, pleasures, and a vacation every four months in the Pyrenees. But another person seeks spiritual achievements: May I merit to understand another page of Gemara, may I merit to complete Shas, may I merit to attend another shiur, may I merit a pure and pristine prayer from the depths of the heart. All his desires are for spiritual delights. Even if he wants money, it is not for desires, but so that he can learn Torah in tranquility and financial ease.
Who is the worthy person? One who hopes for the salvation of Hashem, that the Name of Heaven be sanctified in the world. "As for me, I have trusted in Your kindness" - what did I trust in? That You will bring the redemption. And what am I truly longing for? "My heart shall exult in Your salvation" - that Your Name be sanctified in the world. Not that when the redemption comes, we will pick freshly baked rolls growing on trees, and won't have to go to the bakery to buy rugelach because we can just pick them from a branch. Is that what you are longing for? Is that what we have waited three thousand years for?
"The Mashiach You Are Waiting For Will Not Come"
Once, a Jew came to his Rebbe and said: Rebbe, we must have Mashiach, we must have Mashiach! Why? Because we cannot bear the financial troubles any longer. The Rebbe told him: I am sorry to disappoint you, but the Mashiach you are waiting for will never come; and the Mashiach who will come is not the one you were expecting. For Mashiach does not come to solve material problems. Mashiach comes to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty, to reveal the light of Hashem in the world: "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea," "to serve Him with one accord," "let every creature know that You have made it." Mashiach comes to bring down spiritual abundance to the world, not to resolve your bank overdraft. And naturally, the moment Mashiach comes and resolves all spiritual deficiencies, all material matters are resolved as well: "He will swallow up death forever," "and the Lord Hashem will wipe away tears from all faces," the lion will lie down with the kid, and a suckling child will play over a viper's hole - but these are secondary byproducts, not the goal.
חֶלְקִי יְהֹוָה אָמְרָה נַפְשִׁי עַל־כֵּן אוֹחִיל לוֹ׃ (כד) - "Hashem is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him." (24)
Why do I hope for the Holy One, blessed be He? For "my portion" - I ask that the redemption come so that the Shechinah will not remain in exile, so that the Holy One, blessed be He, will have no sorrow, so that the Name of Hashem will become renowned throughout the world. "I will sing to Hashem because He has dealt bountifully with me" - I thank the Holy One, blessed be He, for my personal redemption, but what will truly make my heart rejoice? "In Your salvation" - that the Shechinah emerge from exile, that the Shechinah no longer be in sorrow.
Binyan David: The Difference Between Hope and Trust
The sefer Binyan David explains that in the Holy Tongue there is a difference between tikvah (hope) and bitachon (trust), as discussed at length in our Tanach lessons based on the Malbim. In spoken language as well, we perceive the difference: when a person says, "I hope," it is not a certainty; no one has promised it to him. But when he says, "I am certain" (batuach), he has an assurance regarding the matter; he was promised that it would be so.
Regarding the Destruction it is said: "This is the day we hoped for; we have found it, we have seen it," while in contrast, "The kings of the earth did not believe... that an adversary and enemy could enter the gates of Yerushalayim." It turns out that the nations had their hope fulfilled - they hoped that an adversary and enemy would come, yet even they themselves never imagined it would actually happen, and behold, their hope was realized. If so, one might have thought that "Hashem is good to those who hope in Him" applies to anyone who hopes, even a wicked person.
Therefore, the Midrash explains: "Hashem is good to those who hope in Him" - could this mean everyone? Anyone who merely hopes that something will happen, in the manner of a gentile, who has no Divine promise and no trust in Hashem, but only wishful thinking? The verse therefore teaches: "To the soul that seeks Him" - one who truly seeks Hashem, who trusts in the Holy One, blessed is He. To such a person the Holy One, blessed is He, says: To you I will grant your request; to you I attend; you I will assist.
טוֹב וְיָחִיל וְדוּמָם לִתְשׁוּעַת יְהֹוָה׃ (כו) - It is good that one should hope and wait silently for the salvation of Hashem. (26)
The author of the lamentation says: It is good for a person to hope - meaning to anticipate Hashem's salvation - and to be silent - meaning to hold one's peace. As it is said, "Be silent before Hashem and wait longingly for Him" (Tehillim 37:7), which means: anticipate Him, from the root of yearning for Him.
Ahavat Tzion: What Is True Bitachon
In the book Ahavat Tzion, the Ridat teaches us a great principle regarding the trait of bitachon. The Ramban writes in Sefer HaEmunah VeHaBitachon: True bitachon does not mean being guaranteed that the outcome will be good, but rather trusting that even now, everything the Holy One, blessed is He, does is for the best. The Chazon Ish wrote similarly in his book, Emunah U'Bitachon.
The Chazon Ish writes: A widespread misconception has taken root in many people's hearts regarding the concept of bitachon. They believe that bitachon means trusting that things will turn out well, and if you do not trust that things will turn out well, you lack bitachon. But this is not correct. Who promised you that things will turn out well? When there are two possible outcomes, one favorable and one unfavorable - for example, a person about to undergo surgery - is a person of bitachon someone who is certain he will recover, while someone who is not certain he will recover lacks bitachon? Who promised you that you will recover? There are people who recover, and there are people who do not.
Rather, what is bitachon? It is being certain that whatever happens is for the good. I am certain that His blessed will will be fulfilled, and that this is for the good. That is, the person says: Whether I emerge safe and sound from the surgery or, Heaven forbid, not - I trust in Hashem that this is His will and that it is for my good. Of course, I pray to Hashem that I emerge safe and sound, and I do not cease doing so for a moment. But to claim that someone who is not certain he will emerge healthy lacks bitachon - that is incorrect, for no one promised me that I would emerge safe and sound.
General Bitachon and Individual Bitachon
We trust in the Holy One, blessed is He, that everything Hashem does in the world is for the good. "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem" - how so? "And Hashem will be his trust" (Yirmeyahu 17:7), meaning that you are certain that Hashem does everything for the best, whether seemingly good or seemingly bad. And here, regarding the collective, Scripture states: "Hashem is good to those who hope in Him, to the soul that seeks Him," "It is good that one should hope and wait silently for the salvation of Hashem." The guaranteed hope and anticipation apply specifically to the collective salvation - that Hashem will bring a general salvation to the Jewish people. This is an absolute promise: there is a promise that the Jewish people will never be destroyed. But a promise that you as an individual will be saved - there is none. A person may survive surgery and he may not; but to say that the Jewish people might survive or might not - there is no such thing. Here we are one hundred percent guaranteed that the Jewish people will endure, without any doubt.
Another Explanation: What One Ought to Pray For
We can also explain "It is good that one should hope and wait silently for the salvation of Hashem" based on what we explained earlier: it is proper for a person not to pray primarily for his personal concerns, for his own difficulties in exile, and for his personal suffering, but rather for the Shechinah in exile, for the sorrow Above caused by our misdeeds. This is the meaning of "It is good that one should hope" - for someone who is good, do you know what he yearns and prays for? "For the salvation of Hashem" - that the Shechinah emerge from exile and no longer be in pain. "For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, blessed is He, and His Shechinah" - this is the highest level. True, in our own reality we are certainly far from this, but at the very least we must know what to strive for: that all our requests should not stem solely from our own personal troubles.
טוֹב לַגֶּבֶר כִּי־יִשָּׂא עֹל בִּנְעוּרָיו׃ (כז) - It is good for a man that he bear a yoke in his youth. (27)
The Ridt says: It is good for a person to bear a yoke in his youth, meaning that he undergoes suffering - and the yoke is like the yoke of an ox, an expression denoting affliction. It is good for a person to be struck for his sins in his youth, for even though he now weeps and suffers, later he will rejoice, since he has paid his debt. In contrast, the nations that arose throughout the six thousand years and did not suffer, having it good - their account has not yet been settled, and do not worry, they still have to pay.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Avraham: Choose for yourself - what do you prefer, Gehennom or the subjugation of the kingdoms? And Avraham chose the subjugation of the kingdoms, he chose exile. Therefore we, the Jewish people, fulfill "It is good for a man to bear a yoke in his youth": in our youth here in this world we bear the yoke, and afterward our reward will be endless. But the nations of the world, who did not suffer here - there they will receive their full "recompense" in Gehennom.
Chazal say: Fortunate is one who receives his suffering in his youth - why? Because his end will be peaceful. So too, Iyov's companions said to him: Why are you distressed over the suffering that has come upon you and protest against it? Behold, your end will be tranquil. And so we indeed saw with Iyov, that Hashem gave him double what he had before. And so Scripture says, "Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end should greatly increase." So it was with the Holy Patriarchs, and so it was with Yosef: in his youth he suffered, and afterward he ruled over all the land of Egypt.
Lechem Dimah: The Yoke of Torah, the Yoke of Marriage, the Yoke of Labor
The Lechem Dimah explains that the verse also speaks of the individual: it is good for a man to bear a yoke in his youth - the yoke of Torah, the yoke of a wife, and the yoke of labor. There are those who say: Leave me alone for now, why do I need a home, a wife, and children? At age thirty, God willing, we will finish all our pleasures and then we will look for a match. Scripture tells him: Know that it is good for a man to bear a yoke in his youth.
And why does it specifically say gever ("man")? Gever denotes one who overcomes (gover) his evil inclination. If from the outset you bear the yoke in your youth, you will succeed later in overcoming your urges. One who studied Torah in his youth finds it easier to study Torah in his old age. One who married in his youth finds it easier to overcome his evil inclination in adulthood. As the Gemara says: I married at age sixteen, and had I married at fourteen, I would have said, "An arrow in the eye of the Satan!" - meaning the Satan would have had no sway over me at all.
Furthermore, labor has the power to distance a person from sin, for when a person is occupied with work, his heart is not free to entertain sinful thoughts. Thus, work, marriage - which guards him from sin - and the study of Torah in his youth, all these are beneficial to a person, enabling him later to attain the status of a gever, one who conquers his inclination. But if he refuses to accept this yoke upon himself, what follows is "Let him put his mouth in the dust" - the evil inclination will overpower him and prevail over him, and it will be difficult for him to contend against it.
יֵשֵׁב בָּדָד וְיִדֹּם כִּי נָטַל עָלָיו׃ (כח) - "Let him sit alone and be silent, for He has laid it upon him." (3:28)
Rashi explains: A person who finds himself in distress should sit alone, sit solitary and look to the Holy One, blessed be He. Why? "For He has laid it upon him" - the One who brought this burden upon him is the Holy One, blessed be He, and Scripture speaks in a concealed sense: Hashem has placed this upon him. If so, to whom should he look? To Hashem's salvation.
"And be silent" (veyidom) implies submission - acceptance of the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, as in "and Aharon was silent" (vayidom Aharon), where Aharon accepted the judgment of Heaven and was reconciled to it. Since all these punishments are not, Heaven forbid, meant to torment the Jewish people, but rather only to collect from them according to their deeds, to purify them and bring them to repentance, and everything is from the Holy One, blessed be He - the proper response is naturally to "sit alone and be silent."
The Targum interprets: Let him sit alone and be silent, bearing the suffering that comes upon him for the sanctification of His blessed Name, which is sent to collect from him for the few sins he possesses, until He has mercy and removes them from him - and then he will receive full reward in the World to Come. One who accepted the suffering here in silence and in submission to the Holy One, blessed be He, will have his reward paid in full in the World of Truth.
Elon Bachut: One Who Casts Off a Yoke Receives a Yoke
The Alon Bachut cites the teaching of Chazal: Whoever neglects the Torah out of wealth will ultimately neglect it out of poverty. Because he cast aside Torah study in the midst of wealth, he will reach a state where he neglects it out of poverty, and his wealth will be taken from him. And whoever casts off the yoke of Torah has placed upon him the yoke of government. There is no reality without a yoke: either you accept the yoke of Torah, or, Heaven forbid, you will be burdened with the yoke of government and subjugation to worldly rulers.
And this is the allusion here: "Let him sit alone" - sitting isolated from the Torah; "and be silent" - instead of learning, the sound of Torah fell silent in his mouth. And what is the result? "For He has laid it upon him" - you yourself brought upon yourself the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly livelihood. Why did you sit alone and fall silent? Had you not sat alone, but rather engaged in Torah study, and had your mouth not fallen silent from words of Torah, Hashem would not have cast this burden upon you.
The commentators further explain that this refers not only to the yoke of Torah, but also to the yoke of marriage and the yoke of labor, and all of these are included here. "Let him sit alone" - also in the sense of one who does not marry; he does not want a burden and does not seek responsibility, so he sits alone. So too, he sits isolated from the yoke of labor: he does not go out to look for work, since looking for work requires interacting with people, and he prefers to stay at home. And one who casts off from himself the yoke of marriage, the yoke of Torah, the yoke of proper conduct, and the yoke of labor - as a result, "He has laid it upon him," and he will receive the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly affairs manifold.
יִתֵּן בֶּעָפָר פִּיהוּ אוּלַי יֵשׁ תִּקְוָה׃ (כט) - Let him put his mouth in the dust; perhaps there is hope. (29)
The Akeidat Yitzchak explains: Faith must be so deeply rooted within a person that even if he reaches the very lowest depths, he will not despair. And what is the lowest depths? Having his face in the dust. When people want to describe someone who has fallen as low as possible, they say he has been brought down to the dust. Even so - "perhaps there is hope." He should say to himself: The Holy One, blessed be He, still possesses the power to bring salvation.
The Ahavat Tzion explains in another manner: Why does it say "Let him sit alone"? Because he spoke lashon hara, and regarding one who speaks slander it is said, "He shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his dwelling be." The previous verse is therefore speaking of a slanderer, who must sit alone and be silent - and since his sin was committed through speech, his rectification is through silence. And what was the punishment of the primordial serpent, the progenitor of those who speak lashon hara? "And dust you shall eat all the days of your life." This is the meaning of "Let him put his mouth in the dust; perhaps there is hope" - that you recognize that your transgression carries the punishment of placing one's mouth in the dust, and perhaps through this acknowledgment there is hope. Indeed, it is written that this was among their sins: there were slanderers and informers among them, and this was part of the sins that brought about the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.
יִתֵּן לְמַכֵּהוּ לֶחִי יִשְׂבַּע בְּחֶרְפָּה׃ (ל) - Let him offer his cheek to the one who strikes him; let him be sated with disgrace. (30)
The Alon Bachut explains: Once a person reaches such a low point that his face is already in the dust, in such a state the afflictions themselves sate him, and he no longer needs to eat. So too Chazal expounded on the verse, "My tears have been my food day and night" - from here we see that afflictions sate a person.
And this is something seen with one's own eyes: a person who is in a depressed state, a person going through a crisis - grows thin and slowly wastes away before your eyes. What happened? He has no desire to eat. He is in distress, in crisis, in deep trouble. And this is what is meant by "Let him offer his cheek to the one who strikes him; let him be sated with disgrace": in a state where a person is so downtrodden and his face is in the dust, food no longer sustains him; rather, it is the insults and humiliations he endures that fill him up.
כִּי לֹא יִזְנַח לְעוֹלָם אֲדֹנָי׃ (לא) כִּי אִם־הוֹגָה וְרִחַם כְּרֹב חֲסָדָיו׃ (לב) - For the Lord will not cast off forever. (31) For though He causes grief, He will have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. (32)
The author of the lamentations tells us: Do you know why it is good for you to remain silent? Why did I say, "Let him offer his cheek to the one who strikes him," "Let him sit alone and be silent," "Let him put his mouth in the dust"? Because you must know: "For the Lord will not cast off forever." When a person is in a situation where someone has forgotten him, he says: There is no choice, I have to act alone; I have no one to rely on, that person will not look after me. But here we are speaking of the Holy One, blessed be He, and He never abandons.
And since this is so, even though I tell you, "Let him sit alone and be silent" - yes, continue to accept it in silence. What you are receiving are afflictions from Hashem, and what is required of a person is to accept them with equanimity. I do not mean that when a person is able to act constructively he should not act, but sinking into despair is certainly forbidden to him. Rather, let him know that Hashem will never cast off: just as Hashem did not abandon in the past, so He will not abandon in the future. And a person is obligated to recite a blessing over misfortune just as he blesses over good fortune, for when the Holy One, blessed be He, brings suffering upon a person, it is his own actions that brought it about.
And this is the meaning of "For though He causes grief, He will have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies": when the Holy One, blessed be He, brings suffering upon you, know that He does so out of mercy, in order to exact payment in this world so that you may be purified for the World to Come. And as the next verse puts it, "and grieves the children of men" - Hashem brought this grief upon you for a good purpose. "He causes grief, He will have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies" - through the little bit of suffering here, He has mercy on you out of His abundant kindness, for otherwise He would exact it from you in the World of Truth, and there the rates are very high.
"For I will not contend forever" - The Wave Will Pass
And "For the Lord will not cast off forever" can also be explained along the line we developed earlier. We said, "It is good that a person should wait quietly for the salvation of Hashem," and here he says: Do you know why I told you to wait? Because the Lord will not cast off forever. And it is written, "For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always angry." We must know that even when there is distress, even when the Jewish people are in agony, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: this is not forever.
Look throughout history: the Jewish people went through troubles, and in the words of Rabbi Akiva - for every single wave, I bowed my head to it. A person must know: a wave is passing, lower your head, the wave will pass. All the most difficult eras of the Jewish people were just periods - a very harsh wave; they bowed their heads, and the wave passed.
Therefore, even if you see that a difficult period is passing by, even if there are economic decrees, VAT is raised, they threaten to put yeshivah students in prison, they cut and slash the yeshivos' budget - Master of the Universe, what will be? - "The Lord will not cast off forever." We survived the father, we will survive the son. We survived Pharaoh, we will survive this reckoning as well. We do not worry. All those who rise up against us to destroy us - this is temporary. The dogs bark and the caravan moves on, and the coming of Mashiach awaits us.
And what we must do is strengthen ourselves, for it is written that the sitra achra's final death throes are very fierce, and that is what we are seeing now. It looks like a war against Hashem and against His anointed: they have decided to eliminate Torah learners; in Russia, whoever studies Torah will be sent to prison. You are told: do not worry. Know that in the end, truth will prevail, "For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always angry," and ultimately, "And you who cleave to Hashem your God are alive, all of you, this day."
All those who rose up against us are in the dustbin of history. Not a trace remains of them; no one knows them or has heard of them, perhaps only reading about them occasionally in history books. Where is ancient Babylon? What is left of it? A country where every day or two a car bomb blows up a hundred or two hundred people, and only then does it make the headlines. Where is Syria, once considered a superpower? Where is Egypt? "And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians," each one driving his fellow insane. What is left of them? Rubbish heaps. Thus a person must know: ultimately, the truth will prevail. Therefore, one should not panic when going through difficult situations, one should not panic when troubles pass over us. In truth, everything is done for the good, and even if there is divine sternness - it is temporary.
And the Akeidat Yitzchak adds: even within the tribulations that the Holy One, blessed be He, brings, there is mercy and an intermingling of kindness, for the attribute of mercy itself demands that payment be exacted from man in this world, so that he will not have to face judgment in the World to Come.
כִּי לֹא עִנָּה מִלִּבּוֹ וַיַּגֶּה בְּנֵי־אִישׁ׃ (לג) - For He does not afflict from His heart, nor grieve the children of men.
The author of Eicha says: even what you see of the Holy One, blessed be He, afflicting people - "He does not afflict from His heart." It is not His desire that we be afflicted and tormented; Hashem does not want things to go badly for you. Rather, all of this is intended to bring you to repent, as it is written: "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? But rather that he return from his ways and live."
And "and grieves the children of men" can be interpreted in two ways. First, as related to grief and sorrow: when Hashem brings suffering, it is to bring a person to grief, by virtue of which he will repent. Second, from the root of gehah, which means healing (just as the hospital is named Geha, and just as Assuta denotes healing and health). So too in Mishlei: "A merry heart is a good medicine [gehah]" - when a person has a bad heart, all illnesses beset him, for he constantly eats himself up from within; but when a person's heart is good, and everything others have is good in his eyes and he rejoices in it, this is healing for the person himself. According to this, "For He does not afflict from His heart, nor grieve [heal] the children of men" means: when Hashem afflicts, it is not from His heart, nor is there any intent to torment, Heaven forbid, but rather the purpose is to heal people - through these tribulations, He heals them.
The Ridat explains: "For He does not afflict from His heart" - the fact that you see a person crushed with afflictions is not from the heart of the Holy One, blessed be He, but because of our sins. And this is the continuation of the verses:
לְהַטּוֹת מִשְׁפַּט־גָּבֶר נֶגֶד פְּנֵי עֶלְיוֹן׃ (לה) לְעַוֵּת אָדָם בְּרִיבוֹ אֲדֹנָי לֹא רָאָה׃ (לו) - "To subvert a man's justice before the face of the Most High; (35) To wrong a person in his dispute - does the Lord not see?" (36)
Does Hashem wrong a person in his dispute? Is that His way? Does Hashem ever do something to a person that he does not deserve, which would be, as it were, a perversion of justice? Heaven forbid! If so, "He did not afflict from His heart" - these afflictions you experience do not stem from the heart of the Holy One, Blessed be He. Where do they come from, then? From you. "Our iniquities have turned these away" - they are what brought all these troubles and afflictions upon us.
The Alon Bachut explains further that in the "heart" of the Holy One, Blessed be He, so to speak, there is immense mercy. As it is said, "And Hashem was grieved at His heart" - Hashem is entirely full of mercy, and consequently Noah was spared, for otherwise Noah too would have perished in the Flood. But regarding the Future Era it is said, "For a day of vengeance is in My heart," and then the Holy One, Blessed be He, says that no remnant or survivor will remain of the enemies of Israel. It is only now that "He did not afflict from His heart," because right now Hashem's mercy is abundant; but in the future, all who rebel against Him will pay their just penalty.
In summary:
This chapter teaches us what hope is and what bitachon is. "Hashem is good to those who wait for Him" - only one whose pursuits are spiritual, "to the soul that seeks Him," is capable of seeing the good in everything that happens in the world, like Reb Zusha, who never felt that anything was bad. Bitachon is not the certainty that things will be pleasant, but the certainty that whatever happens is for the good; and regarding Klal Yisrael as a whole, our redemption is guaranteed. "It is good for a man to bear a yoke in his youth" - the yoke of affliction for the community, and the yoke of Torah, marriage, and livelihood for the individual, for whoever bears a yoke in his youth will ultimately find peace. And even when a person is cast down into the dust - "perhaps there is hope," for "Hashem will not cast off forever," and "He did not afflict from His heart": afflictions stem from His abundant lovingkindness, to refine, heal, and bring one to repentance. And with every passing wave, let us lower our heads and let it pass, until the complete redemption arrives.