T161 PNC - Controversy Elevates the Person — Man as Tree / Floodwaters of Machloket (1 seg)

The controversy (machloket) actually elevates and raises the person — despite appearing to be damaging. The teaching comes from the verse 'Man is the tree of the field' (Deuteronomy 20:19). A tree lying on the ground cannot rise by itself; it can only be raised when flooding waters come and lift it. Similarly, controversy is compared to water — 'They surrounded me like water all day' (Lamentations 3:54). The controversy that surrounds a person is like floodwaters rising around a fallen tree: if the person can remain grounded and not be overwhelmed, the waters of controversy actually lift him up. The person who is attacked, disputed, and opposed — if he maintains his inner stability and does not retaliate or collapse — finds himself elevated above where he was before the controversy began. The controversy becomes his vehicle of ascent.