By Avner Friedmann
Our Parsha tells us that the Egyptians were concerned about the growth of the children of Israel (or Hebrews, as they were then called) because of their population increase and influence. They were becoming too numerous and strong. On the other hand, they had become too valuable to Egyptian society to be summarily evicted from the country. Pharaoh felt that he couldn’t afford to keep them, but also couldn’t afford to lose them. He therefore sought a solution for his “Jewish problem.” He summoned his three top advisors and asked for their opinions. These were Job, Yitro, and Bilaam. He said to them,[1] “Come, let us deal wisely with him (the Hebrew nation) lest he multiply and if there will be war, he too will fight against us and go up from the land.”
Ultimately, Pharaoh wanted to kill the Jewish people. However, according to the Holy Zohar,[2] Job advised him not to do so, but rather to deplete their wealth and break them physically by inflicting them with backbreaking labor. Pharaoh took Job’s advice. First he depleted their wealth through heavy taxation, as it is written[3]: “So they appointed tax collectors over them to afflict them.” Once this was accomplished he enslaved them, as it states,[4] “The Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with rigor”. Because of Job’s advice to Pharaoh, Satan waited for an opportunity to challenge Job.
The book of Job opens with the words,[5] “There was a man in the land of Utz whose name was Job, and that man was wholesome and upright, who feared G-d and shunned evil”. HaShem attested to the fact that Job was righteous and G-d fearing. However, Satan insisted that Job only served HaShem out of ulterior motives, and that his fear of G-d was due to his wealth and success. He argued that if HaShem would deprive him of this, Job would show his true colors, as it states,[6] “Is it for nothing that Job fears G-d? You have blessed his handiwork, and his livestock have spread throughout the land. But send forth Your hand and affect everything that is his, and see if he does not blaspheme You to Your face!”
HaShem answered Satan[7]: “See, everything that he has is in your hand. But do not send out your hand against his person.” “Satan departed from HaShem’s presence and afflicted Job with severe boils, from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.” HaShem permitted Satan to deprive Job of his property and his children and inflict him personally with physical pain and suffering, just short of death. This was exactly as Job had advised Pharaoh to do to the children of Israel!
To Job’s complaint that he was being punished without cause, HaShem answered,[8] “For He repays the deeds of man, and causes man to find according to his conduct. G-d will surely not act wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice.” The Rambam (Maimonides) wrote that it is a principle of our faith[9] that everything which befalls a person is decreed by Heaven in accordance to his deeds.
The Ramban (Nachmanides)[10] commented that Satan had hoped that Job’s suffering would break him, but the opposite proved to be true. His suffering spurred Job to greater spiritual heights. Whereas, until this point he had only served HaShem out of fear, in the end he was motivated by love as well. After his time of suffering, not only was Job healed, but he was also blessed with even more children and greater wealth than he had previously had.
The Talmud tells us[11] that there is no suffering without prior transgression. But what of those righteous that have never transgressed? We find that sometimes they also suffer? However, their sufferings are called “afflictions of love”, the purpose of which is to give them the means to attain even greater spiritual purity and refinement and to develop a higher level of love of HaShem,[12] as stated,[13] “HaShem rebukes the one He loves.”
However, this applies to the select few. Regarding the majority of us our sages stated[14] that if a person sees that afflictions are befalling him, he should examine his deeds, as stated,[15] “Let us search and examine our ways and return to HaShem.” The consequences for our deeds point out our transgressions. In other words, they come in a manner that a person can examine the reasons for his suffering and take the necessary steps to correct them.
In order to achieve greater spiritual heights through one’s suffering, a person should work on internalizing three things:[16]
1) Faith in Divine supervision; that everything is decreed from above and that there is no such thing as luck or happenstance.
2) Faith that everything that happens is in accordance to what is deserved, according to HaShem’s perfect and infinite justice.
3) Faith that everything that HaShem does is for the good and that ultimately it is an expression of His infinite love and kindness (even though it may be beyond our limited minds to understanding).
This being the case; that suffering can be a means to come closer to HaShem, then this at least partially answers the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people”. If by definition, goodness is the opportunity to achieve closeness to HaShem, then, in reality, nothing bad really happens to the righteous, because they recognize this. On the other hand, nothing good really happens to the wicked, because they fail to recognize this.
May we experience the true and complete redemption, in which there will be no more suffering, and in which we will be able to look back at Galut and recognize that all our experiences were ultimately for the good, as scripture states, “HaShem Elokim will erase the tears from all faces[17]” with the coming of our righteous Moshiach, speedily in our times. Amen
[1] Shemot 1:10.
[2] Bo 33a-b.
[3] Shemot 1:11.
[4] Shemot 1:13.
[5] 1:1.
[6] Job 1:9.
[7] Job 5:5-7.
[8] Job 34:11-12.
[9] Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, Hilchot Taaniot, 1:2-3.
[10] Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman, Perush on Job.
[11] Shabbat 55a
[12] Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, Letter from Eliyahu Vol. 3, P. 240.
[13] Proverbs 3:12.
[14] Berachot 5a.
[15] Lamentation3 3:40.
[16] Rabbi Dessler
[17] Isaiah 25:8
