Philosophy:Theodicy – צדיק ורע לו/2

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Theodicy – צדיק ורע לו

Exegetical Approaches

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Compensation in This World

This approach denies the question saying that there are no cases of innocent people being punished or wicked people being rewarded.  In all such seeming cases, one needs to reevaluate either the person's righteousness or their compensation.

Mistaken Status of Person

People don't deserve what they seem to deserve.  A man might seem to be righteous or wicked, however, he might not always actually be so, and Hashem is really paying him his true due that he deserves.

צדיק ורע לו – As outsiders, we can never truly know whether a person is totally righteous.  In these cases he must not be truly innocent, and Hashem is punishing him for the few sins that he committed, even if the majority of his actions were right.
  • R. Bachya suggests that their sin could be in not convincing their generation to repent, even if they themselves did not commit any sins.
  • On the other hand, Ramban says suffering can come as a punishment for a sin committed accidentally.
רשע וטוב לו – The wicked man also performed some good deeds in his life, for which he is being rewarded.  R. Saadia, followed by R. Bachya, accounts for some cases where it doesn't seem as clear that good deeds were done, by saying Hashem is rewarding the wicked man since there is always a possibility that he will repent and be worthy of the reward in the future.
Moral justification – This approach claims that almost all humans are neither perfect nor terrible, rather everyone is somewhere in the middle, and that is how one can have a seemingly pious person who is being punished and the opposite as well.  However, this approach does not account for the many cases where the compensation does not seem exact, and a man who might have committed just one small sin, seems to be punished for far more than that.
Hashem's providence – This approach maintains that Hashem provides for every individual, and not just on a national level.  These sources say that justice works the way Torah describes it, every man is punished for all his sins and rewarded for all his positive deeds.
World to come – These commentators hold that no undeserved retribution is given in this world, however, the deserved retribution sometimes is only given in the world to come.  Therefore, in some cases, already in this world Hashem ensures to pay off for any good deeds performed, so in the world to come they will be worthy of only punishments.
Afflictions of love – Ramban understands that all affliction of love come as a punishment for a sin.
Prophetic complaints – Ramban explains that the prophets were not questioning whether Hashem was acting justly, rather it was a way of complaining about their fate.3
Iyyov – The story of Iyyov seems to contradict this approach, since we don't hear from the book that Iyyov committed any sins.  Ramban understands
Collective punishment – This approach believes that every man is punished for his own sins.  The fact one person might have done something wrong does not require anyone else besides himself to be punished.
"פֹּקֵד עֲוֺן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים"

Misperception of Retribution

People aren't actually getting what they seem to be getting.  What seems to us to be a reward or a punishment might not actually be one.

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.4
Iyyov

Compensation in the World to Come

The righteous or wicked man is really not worthy of the retribution they received in this world.  However, in the world to come, Hashem ensures they receive their worthy compensation.

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.
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.
Why does Hashem do this?
  • Natural order – Hasehm 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.
"פֹּקֵד עֲוֺן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים"
Iyyov – R. Saadia understands Iyyov's suffering to be a test,7 and as we read at the end of the book, Iyyov got an abundance of good at the end of his life.8
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.9
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.