Siman 222

We learned in a Mishnah at the beginning of [the chapter] HaRo'eh: "Upon good tidings—one says 'Blessed is He Who is good and does good.'" And it is explained in the Gemara (59b) that when the good is for him alone, he blesses "Shehecheyanu," and for him and for others, "He Who is good and does good"—good for himself and doing good for others. And specifically when he heard the tidings from a trustworthy man (Magen Avraham subsection 1, and what he wrote regarding a wealthy woman requires further study; and examine this closely). And it is not clarified what is called a good report, but it appears that it must be an important good over which he rejoices greatly, whether it is a joy of money or another type of joy. And regarding money, it depends on his wealth and his poverty, for what is a great matter to a poor man is a small matter to a wealthy man, and everything is according to the matter. And these blessings are with the Name and Sovereignty.

And for bad tidings, one recites the blessing "the true Judge" with the Name and Sovereignty. And in this, there is no distinction whether the evil was to him alone or whether it also concerns others, for this is the justification of Heaven's judgment, as it is written: "The Rock, His work is perfect, etc." And there is no distinction between physical evil and monetary evil, and likewise each one according to its value, as has been written regarding the good tidings.

The sages taught in the Mishnah in [the chapter] HaRoeh (54a): "A person is obligated to bless over the evil just as he blesses over the good," meaning to bless over the evil with a complete mind and a willing soul in the same manner that he blesses with joy over the good, for the evil for those who serve Hashem is their benefit and their joy, since he receives with love that which Hashem decreed upon him. And he should consider that everything is an atonement for his iniquities, and it turns out that through the acceptance of this evil he is serving Hashem, and the service of Hashem is a joy to him. This is what is written: "And you shall love Hashem your God... and with all your 'me'odecha'," for every measure [middah] that He measures out to you, whether it is a good measure or the opposite, be very, very [me'od me'od] thankful to Him. And this is what David said: "Of kindness and of justice I will sing," meaning whether He conducts Himself with me with the attribute of kindness or whether He conducts Himself with me with the attribute of justice, I will always sing. And Iyov said: "Hashem gave and Hashem took, may the name of Hashem be blessed." And a person should always be accustomed to saying: "Everything the Merciful One does, He does for the good" (Gemara 60b), and the maskil will understand with his mind and intellect that the matters of this world are vanity and emptiness, a small moment like a passing shadow and like a dream that flies away.

One recites the blessing over the good, 'ha-tov ve-ha-meitiv,' even though he fears that perhaps evil will come from this—for example, if he found a lost object and fears that perhaps the oppressors will hear and take all that he has—since now it is good and it is not certain that the evil will reach him; for if it were certain, the blessing of 'ha-tov ve-ha-meitiv' would not be relevant. And similarly, one recites over the evil, 'baruch dayan ha-emet,' even though good will come to him from it—for example, if a flood of water came upon his field, and even though when the flood passes it will be a good for him as it watered his field, nevertheless, now it is an evil for him as it caused him much damage. Therefore, even though the good will certainly come, nevertheless, the damage that he had remains damage. And it is obvious that if he has no damage from this at all, he does not recite 'dayan ha-emet,' and also 'ha-tov ve-ha-meitiv' over the watering of the field he shall not recite, for this is not of the abundance of joy that one should recite 'ha-tov ve-ha-meitiv' over it. And know that over several evils, when they come or he hears them as one, there is one blessing for all of them; and similarly regarding the good, when many goods reach him as one or he hears many good reports at one time—he recites the blessing of 'ha-tov ve-ha-meitiv' one time over all the goods.