גם זו לטובה There was a famous Tanna named Nahum Ish Gamzu, who was so named because whenever any misfortune befell him he would respond by saying, גם זו לטובה – “Even this is for the best.” The work Tomer Devorah (chapter 5) explains that the phrase גם זו לטובה implies a reversal and transformation. A person can transform something negative into something positive through his positive outlook, by understanding that even when G-d expresses His attribute of strict justice, He always acts with kindness. When we affirm this belief, that even misfortune is associated with G-d’s attribute of kindness, then we can transform the misfortune into good fortune. The Yitav Lev explains on this basis the famous story told of Nahum Ish Gamzu’s mission to bring a chest full of jewels to the king as a tribute. As Nahum slept in an inn overnight, the innkeeper secretly stole the jewels and replaced them with dirt. When Nahum brought the chest to the king, and the king opened it up and saw dirt, he was enraged and sentenced Nahum to execution. Just then, an angel came in the form of a royal advisor and informed the king that Nahum’s ancestor, Avraham Avinu, once waged a war which he won by throwing at the enemy dirt, which miraculously turned into arrows. The king’s soldiers tried throwing this dirt at their enemies in battle, and, sure enough, the dirt was miraculously transformed into arrows, enabling them to triumph. Nahum was showered with honor and gifts for presenting the king this miraculous dirt. By responding to every adverse situation with the attitude of גם זו לטובה , affirming that everything is for the best, Nahum was able to transform “dirt” into “arrows”; he converted a potentially catastrophic situation into a situation of great blessing. (The Yitav Lev added that as Avraham Avinu is associated with the quality of hesed , kindness, it is fitting that Nahum transformed the dirt into the dirt of Avraham Avinu, turning a situation of harsh judgment into one of great kindness.) This concept of transforming harsh judgment into kindness is one of the themes of Shabbat. Many people observe a custom, which is grounded in Kabbalistic sources, to dilute the wine before kiddush on Friday night by adding a small amount of water to the wine. The Ben Ish Hai composed a prayer to recite when observing this custom, asking that in the merit of our dilution of the wine, we should receive G-d’s blessings, and ימתקו כל הגבורות והדינים – all the harsh judgments issued against us should be “sweetened” and transformed into kindness. Wine symbolizes judgment, whereas water symbolizes kindness, and thus the diluting of wine with water represents our hopes that the harsh judgments will be “diluted” with G-d’s kindness. Right at the outset of Shabbat, as we prepare for kiddush , we perform this symbolic act, because Shabbat is a time of positivity, a time of גם זו לטובה , when we step back from the rigors and hardships of the workweek and affirm our unwavering belief that everything that happens is, in truth, good. This affirmation has the effect of “diluting” harsh judgments and transforming misfortune into good fortune. Indeed, as the Ben Ish Hai observes, the letters of the words גם זו are the same letters as those of the word מזוג – “diluted.” By declaring גם זו לטובה and trusting that even that which appears negative is actually positive, we “dilute” the harsh judgments and turn them into kindness. There is also another point of connection between the outlook of גם זו לטובה and Shabbat. The Sefer Ha’kuzari (3) explains that Nahum Ish Gamzu lived with this positive attitude because he recognized that misfortune serves to atone for our sins. Just as a person who has had a debt hanging over his head for a long time celebrates when he is finally able to pay off the debt, likewise, we should celebrate life’s difficulties, as they serve as “payment” for the sins we have committed. The hardships we endure have a cleansing effect, bringing us atonement, and this is why we should respond to unfortunate events in our lives with the attitude of גם זו לטובה , with an understanding that they are, in truth, beneficial for us. The underlying concept expressed here by the Sefer Ha’kuzari is that events which seem negative may in fact be positive. We have a very limited view of the world and of our lives, and we never know the full implications and long-term effects of anything that transpires. Indeed, the Peleh Yoetz writes that one cannot truly celebrate worldly accomplishments, because one never knows what is truly beneficial and detrimental. That which appears as a source of good fortune may ultimately prove to be detrimental to a person, whereas that which appears negative can turn out to be a magnificent blessing. Therefore, the Peleh Yoetz writes, one can truly celebrate only his spiritual achievements, the mitzvot he performs and the Middot he develops, as these are unquestionably good, and can in no way ever be detrimental. The attitude of גם זו לטובה , then, is built upon the concept of our limited vision and understanding, the recognition that we do not always know what is truly in our best interest, what is beneficial for us and what is detrimental to us. This concept, too, is closely related to Shabbat. As we know, the two loaves of bread that we have on the table on Shabbat serve to commemorate the manna, specifically, the double portion of manna that fell for Beneh Yisrael every Erev Shabbat in the desert. The Torah says in Sefer Devarim that G-d fed our ancestors manna in order to teach us that לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם כי על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם – “a person does not live on bread alone; rather, a person lives on whatever G-d declares.” The Arizal ( Sefer Ha’likutim , Ekev) explains this to mean that we do not live only on what we feel is beneficial for us. Our lives and wellbeing depend not on “bread” – what we intuitively assume to be helpful and good for us – but rather on מוצא פי ה' – what G-d knows is helpful and good for us. Our knowledge is very limited, and we do not always know what is good for us and what isn’t. Case in point, G-d gave us the manna to sustain us, but Beneh Yisrael complained about it. The manna was perfect, especially designed to sustain Beneh Yisrael , but they saw it as something negative. The attitude of גם זו לטובה is one whereby we understand that even things which appear negative may in truth be in our best interest, because Hashem knows much better than we do what will help us and what is to our detriment. We have two loaves of bread on Shabbat to remind us of the manna and of this vital message of גם זו לטובה . We are shown that we need to trust in Hashem and firmly believe that He knows much better than we do what we need and what will benefit us, and therefore we can live with joy and confidence, trusting that גם זו לטובה – even that which appears detrimental is, in truth, beneficial. Shabbat, then, is a time of positivity, of “diluting” life’s hardships with the belief that everything Hashem does is for the best, and a time to remind ourselves of our limited knowledge and that ultimately Hashem, and not we, knows what we need and what is best for us.