There are times in our lives that we see G-d from afar. What do I mean by that? There are times that even though we realize and recognize that G-d runs the world and that everything happens from a reason, we lack the clarity of a certain situation or cycle  in our lives.

I learned this week from A shir from Rabbi Eli Mansour that the greatest in Tanach have asked them selves this same question. As a matter of a fact Moshe Rabbeinu our greatest leader asked himself the same thing. When he goes up to Sinai and receives the 10 commandments from G-d he asks to see his face. Hashem responded that He would show Moshe His back, for no living mortal would be able to see His face and live.The chachamim (wise men) are puzzled as to why at the peak of clarity Moshe would ask this question or better yet what was he really asking with the question?

We learn the same in Last weeks Parashat Shemot; the medrash tells us that Amram and yochebed Moshe's parents decided to get a divorce. Miriam tells them that they are worst then pharaoh for pharaoh's decree was against the boys but by divorcing, Moshe's parents where decreeing even against the girls. Miriam also tells them that through a prophecy she knew that to them would be born a boy that would be the leader of the children of Israel. So Amram and yochebed get back together and sure enough a boy is born whom they name Moshe.

However, at the peak of revelation of Miriam's prophecy she experiences a dark moment in chapter 2 verse 4 it says "The child's sister stood herself at a distance to see what would happen to him." Our rabbis learn form this verse that when it says she "stood at a distance" it means exactly this concept of seeing G-d from afar. She didn't understand how the baby could be saved and how contradictory her situation was to the clarity of her prophecy.

At this point we can begin to understand Moshe's question to Hashem; what he was asking is why do bad things happen to good people at times and good things to bad people. Why is such a painful process necessary before the redemption comes. We can even apply it today, why do we have to go through such a rough time so that moshiach can come? Or a bal teshuva can say on a personal level, why are things so hard for me now that I'm trying to live a Kosher lifestyle.

Hashem's answer can best be explained by a Mashal (parable) 

There once was a child who grew up on a farm one day, he got up  as he looked outside his window he began to admire the beautiful grass on the field. The next day, he woke up to the noise of a tractor that was plowing that field; he yelled no! stop! what are you doing? you are ruining the beautiful field. But then he noticed one day that wheat began to grow on it; he understood that in order for wheat to grow, the field had to be plowed. The next morning, he woke up to the sound of a tractor that was harvesting the wheat and he yelled out no! no! stop! stop! you will ruin the wheat. The next day he was horrified to see people putting the wheat shafts into a machine that would crushed them into little pieces and once again he could not understand why some one would want to ruin the wheat; so he proceeded down the line to see that grains where coming out of it and he understood what they where doing it. Until one day he saw them crushing and burning the grains once again he was frustrated, in despair why would some one want to ruin the beautiful grains? Until one day he noticed what was happening in ovens where the grain was being burnt; he smelled a sweet beautiful smell and to his surprise he saw that out of those ovens came out a gorgeous piece of bread. And only then he understood why one day he saw people plowing the field and harvesting the wheat and crushing and burning the grain. He realized that what he thought was cruelty was only kindness and he was able to see that in order to make sweet tasty bread there was a rough process, that by itself made no sense but at the end was all worth it.

We are all like this child, and our lives are like that field. Seeing G-d from afar means I don't understand what I'm going through this right now but I realize that if it comes form you Hashem it is for my best;  one day I will see the whole picture and understand that instead of cruelty it was all kindness. When Hashem tells Moshe's no one can see my face and live, he is telling him only when a person dies and sees everything in retrospect can a person understand G-d and why they had to go through what they had to go through. And like wise Miriam only until she saw that the boy was picked up by pharaoh's daughter and he would grow up in the palace did she understand what G-d was doing.

There is a saying amongst the Jewish people that says "Gam zot le Tova" "this is also for the good" we say it when things are tough. the Shulchan Aruch says that this concept of "Gam Zot Le Tova " is a higher level it means being able to see G-d in everything that happens to us; however it says that our obligation minimally is to have emuna ("faithfulness") that everything comes from G-d and and its for our good. Seeing Hashem in everything is the result and level obtained after having emuna("faithfulness") that it is all for the best.

May Hashem bless us with the strength to overcome our challenges, so that we can merit to see him in every step of our lives and recognize that after all is set and done it was all for the good.