Philosophy:Theodicy – צדיק ורע לו/2
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Theodicy – צדיק ורע לו
Exegetical Approaches
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 person with a reputation for wickedness or righteousness 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.
The terms צדיק and רשע – R. Saadia 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.2
Why is righteousness / wickedness misperceived? People misevaluate others for several reasons:
- Unaware of deeds – As people are not privy to all the actions of others, they are not always aware of their faults or merits. Thus, Ramban posits that suffering might result from accidental misdeeds of which the righteous themselves might not even be cognizant. Chovot HaLevavot adds that the sins might be ones of omission,3 not apparent to outsiders. In addition many deeds (both positive and negative) are done in private, or involve thoughts rather than actions.
- Ignore human potential – Ralbag4 suggests that people do not always take an individual's potential into account when evaluating their deeds. If a person is righteous but had the potential to do significantly more than he did, he is not as deserving as he seems.5 Similarly, if a wicked person is born without a certain capacity for good, he should not be held culpable when he does not have many good deeds to his name.
Verses in Torah which promise retribution or reward – These verses refer to recompense in this world, rather than the World to Come. This is supported by the fact that most of the verses relate to physical rewards such as rain, crops, victory over enemies and the like. This fits with this approach, which agrees that people are blessed or cursed in their lifetime, just as the verses promise.
Hashem's providence: individual or collective – According to this position, 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's promise that a "man or woman" who turns away from Hashem will receive the curses of Parashat Ki Tavo.
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.
Afflictions of love – This position could agree with Rambam who appears to totally reject the concept of afflictions of love,6 or with Ramban who claims that even such afflictions serve to purify for some degree of sin. He explains that they are considered "afflictions of love" since they come to erase inadvertent sins which are not severe enough to require punishment in the World to Come, but nonetheless need to be atoned.7
The Suffering of Iyyov – This approach matches that of Elifaz and the other friends in Sefer Iyyov, who try to convince Iyyov that, despite his righteous reputation, 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. This position might respond that Iyyov's questioning of Hashem after his suffering proved his lack of righteousness. Nonetheless, the fact that Hashem rebukes Iyyov's friends suggests that their words to Iyyov were misguided.
Exile and enslavement in Egypt – This approach would maintain that both the exile and enslavement were punishment for sins of the nation. [See Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage for discussion of the possible sins that were committed.] It would further suggest that each individual slave was worked more or less, in accordance with their deeds.
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 might 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 complained about their fate.
Collective punishment – According to this position, there is no collective punishment, but rather each person is punished only for their own sins. When the collective appears to be punished in Tanakh, that is because all the people affected are really culpable, either for the same sin, or for individual crimes of their own. For elaboration, see Collective Punishment.
"פֹּקֵד עֲוֺן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים"
Divine Justice
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.
Why is compensation misperceived?
- Physical goods are not true rewards – Rambam suggests that people assume that happiness comes from physical good (such as health, children and wealth), when in reality these pale in comparison to the ultimate good: knowledge of Hashem.9 Thus, an outsider might consider a צדיק who lives in poverty to be suffering, when in fact that individual is on such a spiritual level that they simply do not regard physical suffering as suffering at all.
- Missing full picture – Most other commentators suggest, instead, that compensation is often misconstrued since people tend to only see part of a person's retribution:
- Delayed punishment / reward – The illusion of injustice might be caused by the fact that Hashem does not always give recompense immediately after one commits a sin or does a good deed,10 making it difficult to see how every action is paid for measure for measure11 . Shadal points out, however, that if one were to look at an individual's retribution over the span of a lifetime, one would see that it matches his deeds.12
- Unknown goal of retribution – A person might receive what appears to be a reprieve in punishment, or even a reward, but in reality the point is to ultimately cause more damage later. For example, R. Saadia claims that Paroh did not die at the beginning of the cycle of plagues to ensure that he suffer through all and eventually drown in the sea. Similarly, the wicked might get a small blessing, only so as to prevent them from receiving a much greater undeserved reward.13 The inverse is also true; the righteous sometimes suffer slight hardships to prevent bigger catastrophes,14 or enable greater rewards.15
- Only external compensation apparent – Often a person's emotional well being is less apparent to an outsider than his physical rewards, leading to the misconception that "רשע וטוב לו" while in fact the individual is suffering emotional turmoil. Thus, R"Y Albo suggests that though people might envy the wealthy, having much property is more of a curse than a reward, as Chazal say, "מרבה נכסים מרבה דאגה".16
Verses in Torah which promise retribution or reward – These verses refer to recompense in this world, which are meted out to both the collective and individuals, as they deserve. As most of the verses speak of physical good, the Rambam's claim that true reward is intellectual in nature is somewhat difficult.
Hashem's providence: individual or collective? According to this approach, there is both individual and collective providence in this world.
World to Come – Hashem does not wait for the World to Come to mete out retribution, but punishes and rewards where the deeds were done.
The suffering of Iyyov
- Rambam explains that once Iyyov attained a strong understanding of Hashem he himself acknowledged that true happiness is not related to physical good, but to recognition of God. As such, any physical harm that had come to him was insignificant. As evidence he points to Iyyov's words, "לְשֵׁמַע אֹזֶן שְׁמַעְתִּיךָ וְעַתָּה עֵינִי רָאָתְךָ עַל כֵּן אֶמְאַס וְנִחַמְתִּי עַל עָפָר וָאֵפֶר".
- This position might also explain that the book ends with Iyyov not only regaining all he lost, but being rewarded with more than he had at the outset. This proves that over one's lifetime Hashem compensates for any suffering, evening out the score before death. However, one might question if the anguish caused by loss is really undone when that loss is replaced (even if it is replaced by something more valuable).17
Exile and enslavement in Egypt – This position could suggest that the exile and bondage actually had many hidden benefits: preventing assimilation, instilling empathy, fostering unity and erasing class distinctions. In addition, they served to purify the people so they would merit to receive the Torah and the Land of Israel.18 However, it is questionable if the positives gained by the bondage outweighed the negatives. Moreover, many of these benefits relate to the nation as a whole, rather than to individuals, leaving the question of individual justice in its place.19
Prophetic complaints – R. Chananel and. R. Saadia Gaon. suggests that when Moshe and Yirmeyahu question Hashem regarding why the righteous continue to suffer while the wicked prosper,20 Hashem reassures them that everyone will get their just compensation in the near future,21 and that the present delay will allow for a doubling of both the punishment of the wicked and reward of the righteous.22 This accords with this general approach, that compensation does come in this world and what originally might appear as unfair is evened out later.
Divine justice – This approach believes that all that Hashem does is just, and everyone ultimately gets their due.
Afflictions of love – This position might understand afflictions of love to refer to those afflictions which contain a hidden good or enable a person to merit rewards later in life. Thus, afflictions which bring a person closer to Hashem or prevent him from otherwise sinning would fall in this category. Though they might initially appear to be a case of "צדיק ורע לו", they are actually "לטוב לו".
Difficulties with this approach – There are certain hardships which are very difficult to understand as being blessings in disguise. What hidden good did an individual who suffered and died at the hands of the Nazis receive?
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 Onkelos, Sifre Devarim, Yerushalmi, Bavli, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, R. Saadia Gaon, Chovot HaLevavot, Rashi, Kuzari, Radak, Ramban, Ralbag, Ran, R. Chasdai Crescas, Sefer HaIkkarim, Abarbanel, R. Avraham Saba
Why wait for the next world?
- Natural order – Ralbag, Ran, R. Crescas and Abarbanel all point out that this world is generally run via natural law,23 and not individual Divine providence.24 Thus, in this world, only a person who is so righteous that he merits Divine intervention to overturn nature will be protected from undeserved chance disasters.
- Part of the collective – A corollary of the above is the idea that since in this world, general rather than individual providence takes precedence, if the majority of the nation deserves punishment, the few righteous individuals within will suffer as well.25
- 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.
The World to Come – This position views this world and the World to Come as one continuum. Thus, it is not unjust that actions done in this world be compensated only in the next world.
Hashem's providence – According to this approach, Hashem provides on a national level, and not for each individual person.
Promises of reward and punishment
Iyyov – R. Saadia understands Iyyov's suffering to be a test,26 and as we read at the end of the book, Iyyov got an abundance of good at the end of his life.27
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 explicit in the Torah at all.28
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.
Immediate punishment of the sinner in Devarim 7
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:Rambam
