What do we do when life “bites”? When it hurts, gets tough, and everything feels like it’s falling apart?
In a parable shared by Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, the esteemed Admor, he tells of a great king who cares deeply for his people. In his city, there is a dangerous road that ends in a deep abyss. Anyone who walks too close to the edge risks falling and dying. What does the king do? Out of love and compassion, he ties fierce dogs near the edge—dogs that bark and bite anyone who comes too close.
At first glance, it seems cruel—why place biting dogs there? But in truth, it’s an act of mercy. The dog that bites prevents people from falling. It warns them. It saves lives.
“So too in life,” says Rabbi Pinto. “The pain that bites you—it’s the dog sent to stop you from falling into the abyss.”
Many times, the hardships we face aren’t punishments from Heaven but consequences of our own actions—whether from this lifetime or a previous one. We create those dogs through our misdeeds. They lie in wait to warn us when we’re approaching danger once again.
Rabbi Pinto referenced God’s reply to Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” In other words, we cannot understand the divine calculations. We don’t know what was created, how, or why. We don’t know the reasons, the consequences, or the spiritual dimensions. That’s why even when pain seems overwhelming—we must not see it as punishment, but as a form of salvation.
“The evil that a person experiences,” Rabbi Pinto explains, “is not necessarily evil. It’s a dog sent to bite—to stop you from falling into the abyss. Even if the pain is great, it’s saving you from something far worse.”
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel