Philosophy:Theodicy – צדיק ורע לו/2

Theodicy – צדיק ורע לו

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Just Compensation in This World

Everyone gets their appropriate due in this world.  Though it sometimes seems as if innocent people are being punished or wicked people are being rewarded, this is only because outsiders often misevaluate the righteousness of a person, or misunderstand the nature of their compensation.

Misperception of Righteousness

A so-called wicked or righteous person might not always be what they seem.  Thus, wrong-doers might have merits that justify their rewards, while the righteous might have committed sins which justify their punishment.

Sources:Bavli BerakhotBerakhot 7aBerakhot 7bAbout the Bavli,

The terms צדיק  and רשע – R. SaadiaHaEmunot VeHaDeiot 5:2-3About R. Saadia Gaon points out that people are viewed as good or evil based on the majority of their actions.  Thus a "צדיק" might still have sinned, and a "רשע" might have done some good.¹

צדיק ורע לו – When hardships befall righteous people, it can be assumed that Hashem is punishing them for the various sins that they committed.² These sins might not be evident to all for several reasons:

• Accidental wrongdoing – According to RambanTorat HaAdam Shaar HaGemulAbout R. Moshe b. Nachman, suffering often befalls righteous people for their accidental misdeeds (which they themselves might not even be aware of). These are not severe enough to require punishment in the World to Come, but nonetheless need to be atoned. He suggests that in the time of the Mikdash a sin offering would have sufficed, but since its destruction, suffering serves as a replacement. ³
• Sin of omission – Chovot HaLevavot4:3About R. Bachya ibn Pakuda suggests that the sin might be one of omission, such as refraining from rebuking those who deserve punishment and abetting them to repent.
• Sins in secret – Other sins might be done behind closed doors, or involve thoughts rather than actions.

רשע וטוב לו – The inverse of the above is also true.  A wicked person's good deeds might merit him reward, even if such deeds are not obvious to outsiders.  As above, such actions might have been done in secret, or before the person earned a reputation for wickedness.

Verses in Torah which promise retribution or reward – According to this approach, all these verses speak about recompense in this world, rather than the World to Come, and each person is blessed/cursed in their lifetime, just as the verses promise.  As most of the verses relate to physical rewards such as rain, crops, victory over enemies and the like, this is the simplest understanding of the text. 

Hashem's providence: individual or collective – According to this approach, there is not only collective, but also individual providence in this world. This is supported by the various verses which speak of individual retribution such as Devarim 29's promise that a "man or woman" who turns away from Hashem will be cursed.

World to Come – The existence of a World to Come does not preclude justice in this world.  Since one's actions were done in the physical world, they are requited there as well.

Lack of immediate punishment or reward – The illusion of injustice is often created by the fact that Hashem does not always give recompense immediately after one commits a sin or does a good deed.⁴  The delay makes it harder to see how every action is paid for measure for measure.  Nonetheless, if one were to look at an individual's retribution over the span of a lifetime, one would see that it matches his deeds.

Afflictions of love – This approach could agree with Ramban that "afflictions of love", too, come to atone for sins.  They are afflictions of love since they come to erase inadvertent sins and serve to cleanse the person more than punish him.

The Suffering of Iyyov – This approach matches that of Elifaz and the other friends in Sefer Iyyov, who try to convince Iyyov that his afflictions must be punishment for sin. However, the opening of the book suggests that Iyyov was free of sin, and even if he had committed minor offenses it is hard to see how they could justify the severity of his suffering.  In addition, Hashem rebukes Iyyov's friends, suggesting that their attempts at comfort were misguided.

Prophetic complaints – If there really is no such thing as "צדיק ורע לו", why is it that the prophets complain about the phenomenon? 

• As prophets are human, they are not always privy to man's every action and make assumptions about righteousness, just like laymen, leading them to  question Hashem's justice.
• Ramban explains that even though the prophets intellectually knew that there is ultimate justice, in the moment of suffering, they too complain about their fate.⁵

Collective punishment – According to this approach, there is no collective punishment, but rather each person is punished only for their own sins. When the collective is punished in Tanakh, that is because they are really all culpable, either for the same sin, or for a separate crime of their own.  For elaboration, see Collective Punishment.

"פֹּקֵד עֲוֺן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים"

Misperception of Retribution

What appears to be a reward or a punishment might actually be the opposite. As such, what is construed as unjust retribution is really not so.

Sources:Third opinion in RalbagMilchamot HaShem 4:5Milchamot HaShem 4:6About R. Levi b. Gershom, ShadalShemot 20:4About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto,

צדיק ורע לו

• Sometimes Hashem causes the righteous to suffer a little in order to avoid him from suffering a lot.

רשע וטוב לו

• Sometimes Hashem keeps the wicked person alive in order for them to witness an even worse punishment than they would have witnessed.
• In some cases, the good is a cause for bad, and the whole purpose really is the punishment.  For example by Paroh, Hashem did not punish him in order so he will experience the splitting of the sea which was a harsher punishment than he would have received.

Moral justification

Hashem's providence – According to this approach, not all good and evil in life is necessarily a punishment or a reward.

World to come

Afflictions of love

Prophetic complaints – R. Saadia suggests the prophets trusted Hashem he is directing the world justly, rather they were just asking how and for what purpose he was doing what looks to be unjust.⁶

Iyyov

Just Compensation in the World to Come

People do not get their just compensation in this world.  It is only in the World to Come that Hashem gives everyone their appropriate due.

Sources:Targum OnkelosDevarim 7:10About Targum Onkelos, Sifre Devarim11:26About Sifre Devarim, YerushalmiChagigah 2:1About the Yerushalmi, BavliShabbat 30bTaanit 11aKiddushin 40bChulin 142aAbout the Bavli,⁷ Targum Pseudo-JonathanDevarim 7:10About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, second opinion in R. Saadia GaonHaEmunot VeHaDeiot 5:2-3About R. Saadia Gaon,⁸ second opinion in Chovot HaLevavot4:3About R. Bachya ibn Pakuda, RashiDevarim 32:4Berakhot 5aAbout R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, Kuzari3:196:1About R. Yehuda HaLevi, RadakHoshea 14:10About R. David Kimchi, RanDerashot HaRan 8About R. Nissim Gerondi, Sefer HaIkkarim4:74:124:13About R. Yosef Albo, AbarbanelDevarim 4:15-24Devarim 32:1About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel,⁹

צדיק ורע לו – The righteous man is suffering in this world unjustly, so in the world to come he will get an abundance of good.

רשע וטוב לו – The wicked man being part of a nation who is worthy of good, receives good as well, even though he does not deserve it.

Moral justification – In the world to come, Hashem will give the real reward to the righteous and the real punishment to the wicked.

Hashem's providence – According to this approach, Hashem provides on a national level, and not for each individual person.

Why does Hashem do this?

• Natural order – Hashem does not purposely wrong people, rather he lets the world act on its own, and therefore some people in this world do not deserve what happens to them.
• Test – R. Saadia explains Hashem's purpose to be a test in order to publicize the commitment of the righteous man even with all the troubles he goes through, and seeing the unworthy retribution the wrongdoer received.  Hashem is testing the righteous man to see if he will continue to follow the right path even though he is compensated wrongly.  He knows they will tolerate the punishment they don't deserve, and later on in their life or in the world to come, He gives them an abundance of good. 
• Hashem is using the wicked man for a different purpose before he punishes him, such as to fight with a different nation.
• The righteous man is suffering over the sins of his generation, or of his ancestors, and not his own sins.

Iyyov – R. Saadia understands Iyyov's suffering to be a test,¹⁰ and as we read at the end of the book, Iyyov got an abundance of good at the end of his life.¹¹

Purposes of the Egyptian bondage – This approach can understand the Egyptian bondage to have an educative or formative purpose rather than being a punishment for a sin.

"פֹּקֵד עֲוֺן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים"

World to come – This approach is based heavily on the idea of retribution being given in the world to come, however, the whole concept of the world to come is not explicated in the Torah at all.¹²

Afflictions of love – This approach understands that Hashem sometimes afflicts out of love to the person in order to multiply their reward, and not as a punishment over a sin.

Not All Receive Just Compensation

People who do not merit Divine providence might not get just compensation.  As their lives are ruled by nature, sometimes rewards or punishments are given to the undeserving.

Sources:Ralbag?

¹ See also Bavli Berakhot which differentiates between the "totally righteous/ wicked" and those who are only partially righteous or wicked.

² See also Bavli BerakhotBerakhot 5aAbout the Bavli which suggests that if bad comes on you and you cant figure out why, one should look at their deeds to see if they have done something wrong.

³ He points out that these are not severe enough to require punishment in the World to Come, but nonetheless need to be atoned. He suggests that in the time of the Mikdash a sin offering would have sufficed, but since its destruction, suffering serves as a replacement.

⁴ R. Saadia suggests that at times Hashem holds off punishment knowing that a person is to repent, as was the case with Menashe the King of Israel.  Conversely, Hashem might do so in order to compound the sinner's punishment later.  As an example, R. Saadia points to Paroh's surviving the plagues so that he could endure all of them and eventually drown in the Sea.

⁵ The Bavli already notes that Chavakkuk is asking Hashem about the evil swallowing relatively righteous people.  However the nation, was not even near to being perfect, and Chavakkuk was not doubting Hashem's justice.

⁶ R. Saadia explains that by Yirmeyahu Hashem responded later in 12:7 saying that he will give a harsher punishment in the future.

⁷ According to the Bavli in Taanit, the seemingly wrong retribution is given rightfully because of minute sins or mitzvot performed, and the retribution they do deserve which is missing, will be given to them in the world to come.

⁸ R. Saadia Gaon suggests that the true compensation might occur later in life in this world, and does not explicitly say in the world to come.  He brings as examples Iyyov and Paroh who both received at the end of their life, a reward or a punishment, respectively.

⁹ It is not so clear from Abarbanel if a person might get an unworthy retribution in this world, or if a person only does not get all his worthy retribution (being punished only and not rewarded), similarly to the first opinion.

¹⁰ That seems to be the simple reading of the verses, that the Satan wanted to test Iyyov to see if he will continue to worship Hashem even with all his kids dying and his possessions taken.

¹¹ See Iyyov 42:12, "וַי"י בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַחֲרִית אִיּוֹב מֵרֵאשִׁתוֹ".

¹² R. Chasdai Crescas accounts for this question by saying that the nation coming out of Eygpt knew about the world to come and there was no reason to explicate it.