The Problem of Evil and Divine Providence (1)

     As we have seen, the first portion of the Book of Genesis – the story of creation - ends with an announcement of the "grade" that God gives the world: "and behold it was very good." Only in the second portion, in the story of the Garden of Eden, are we introduced to the presence of both good and evil. Evil makes its appearance in the world as a result of Adam's sin. This moment in history created both the presence of evil in our world and the source for ultimate redemption. It gave birth to the hope of return to the "very good" and to the ultimate "day that is all good." Today good and evil are intermixed; mankind must conquer and alter reality. This has an important impact on our attitude towards the world. We are not judged by the world; we judge the world. We do not see nature as a yardstick by which to assess ourselves; we look at nature and proclaim that it contains both good and evil. Thus the idea of redemption is born - God expects us to amend the evil in our world.

                The concept of evil can be explored from various perspectives. The book of Genesis poses the question at the outset: how can evil exist if God is completely good? The prophets command us to destroy evil, but they also ask the classic question: why do the righteous suffer? This is the question of divine providence. We cannot deal with this question without examining the Scriptural source of this issue - the Book of Job. The debate regarding Job, in essence the discussion of the question of good and evil, is an existential question. Whoever expresses a position enters the fray, for this is no abstract discussion; it touches on our most sensitive and basic existential problems.

                The great surprise of the book of Job is that we are forbidden to simply assume that suffering is a function of sin. The book teaches us that the righteous suffer and that the suffering is a test. The righteous person is not punished; he is faced with a test.  As we will see, the book does present an answer to the basic question, but this answer in no way eliminates the concept of God's testing of the righteous. answer as well.  The different answers exist on different levels, and they do not contradict one another.  In fact, they may even compliment one another.

                There are different types of tests. In its most basic form, we place money in front of the person to see if he will take it or not, to find out if he is trustworthy or not. However in Job's case, there is no need to check if the man is righteous or not. We are actually evaluating something completely different. Job is an instrument for a purpose much greater than himself. God expects Job to succeed at an impossible task.  God has entered into a wager with Satan,and thus "needs" Job to respond correctly, for cosmic reasons. Job must prove that man can worship God under these terrible conditions. Is this possible? Or perhaps worship of God is ultimately judged according to principles of success and utility? As we shall see, this was one of the central questions of inter-religious polemics throughout history. The story of Job teaches us not to be tempted to judge truth according to success. A child instinctively calls out to someone who was hurt "You deserved it!" Let us not judge people according to their suffering, nor according to what we see as their "punishment." Life is a little more complicated than simplistic scorekeeping can teach us. The book of Job also teaches us that the final accounting must end with redemption. However before we reach chapter forty-seven of Job, we must first face the test.

Suffering, Not Passivity

                There is a vast difference between acceptance of suffering, and apathy or passivity. Passivity means giving up on the attempt to change the situation. As Rabbi Soloveitchik has commented, this is a situation in which the free subject becomes an object of manipulation by forces greater than himself, over which he has no control and no ability to respond effectively. This response is very far from the response of Judaism. Jewish law sanctifies the war against suffering, sickness and death. The prophets command us to fight the war against suffering, particularly when caused by moral or social injustice. We cannot remain indifferent in the presence of others suffering.  We are forbidden to "stand idly by our brothers blood" and we may not refrain from extending a hand to the poor and the sufferer. When a person faces suffering he must attempt to correct it.  At the same time, however, we must recognize the fact that we must know that beyond what can be corrected, there is suffering, particularly personal suffering, which we cannot mend. Then we ask for a miracle; we ask for God's help with those problems whose solutions lie beyond the scope of our abilities.

The Answer of the Book of Job

                The book of Job questions the meaning of suffering. What is its answer? Although the commentators are divided with regard to the essence of the answer, it seems to me that we can look for it in four places:

1. Chapter 28, the chapter of wisdom: "and wisdom from whence shall be produced, and what is the place of understanding?"
2. Elihu's response [32-37]
3. The most important place - God's answer "from within the storm" [38-39].
4. Job's redemption.

In each of the three first places, we are faced with the limitations of human knowledge. Despite its presumption, human wisdom disappoints. It solves the mysteries of science and technology, it investigates the origins of silver and copper, and helps us overcome darkness and want. Yet, despite all this, we cannot find the true wisdom, the answer to the question of why good people suffer. According to our Sages, this is the question Moses asked of God when he pleaded, "Show me Your ways" [Exodus 33:13]. To this question Moses receives the mysterious answer, "I will grant the grace that I will grant and show the compassion I will show."  The answer ultimately remains hidden from human understanding. This is expressed also in God's response to Job, which the Talmud expresses through a play upon a different verse in the book. If we were to translate God's answer to Job into our language, we could say: "can the One who can distinguish between quarks of different types, between an electron and a positron, not distinguish between Job [in Hebrew, Iyov], and an enemy [in Hebrew, Oyev]?" We are in a state of suffering with no rational explanation, but we must nevertheless realize, that God accompanies us in these situations and participates in our suffering. Even in suffering, Iyov is no Oyev.

                And yet, God's answer is not complete unless He returns Job to his former state. In an as yet unredeemed world, we are faced with a test.  God wishes that we not only emerge from it successfully, but also that we feel that He is with us. This is a difficult demand when directed to the Job who stood facing the gas chambers at Auschwitz, however this is essentially the imperative that emerges from the book: to know and understand that God is not an enemy and that He has not abandoned His world.

Translated by Gila Weinberg