Rabbinic Responses to Theodicy

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei : Moses requested three things from the Holy One, Blessed be He, all of which were granted him.

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Lastly, Moses requested that the ways in which God conducts the world be revealed to him, and He granted it to him, as it is stated: “Show me Your ways and I will know You” (Exodus 33:13). Moses said before God: Master of the Universe. Why is it that some of the righteous prosper, and some of the righteous suffer, some of the wicked prosper, and some of the wicked suffer?

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Rather, it must be that God said to Moses as follows: The righteous person who prospers is a completely righteous person. The righteous person who suffers is one who is not a completely righteous person. The wicked person who prospers is one who is not a completely wicked person. Finally, the wicked person who suffers is a completely wicked person.

Rava, and some say Rav Ḥisda, said: If a person sees that suffering has befallen him, he should examine his actions, as it is stated: “We will search and examine our ways, and return to God” (Lamentations 3:40). If he examined his ways and found no transgression for which that suffering is appropriate, he may attribute his suffering to dereliction in the study of Torah, as it is stated: “Happy is the man whom You punish, Lord, and teach out of Your law” (Psalms 94:12). And if he did attribute his suffering to dereliction in the study of Torah, and did not find anything, he may be confident that these are afflictions of love, as it is stated: “For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes” (Proverbs 3:12).

Rav Ami said: There is no death without sin; were a person not to sin, he would not die. And there is no suffering without iniquity.

Rava said: Length of life, children, and sustenance do not depend on one’s merit, but rather they depend upon fate. As, Rabba and Rav Ḥisda were both pious Sages; one Sage would pray during a drought and rain would fall, and the other Sage would pray and rain would fall. And nevertheless, their lives were very different. Rav Ḥisda lived for ninety-two years, whereas Rabba lived for only forty years. The house of Rav Ḥisda celebrated sixty wedding feasts, whereas the house of Rabba experienced sixty calamities. In other words, many fortuitous events took place in the house of Rav Ḥisda and the opposite occurred in the house of Rabba. In the house of Rav Ḥisda there was bread from the finest flour [semida] even for the dogs, and it was not asked after, as there was so much food. In the house of Rabba, on the other hand, there was coarse barley bread even for people, and it was not found in sufficient quantities. This shows that the length of life, children, and sustenance all depend not upon one’s merit, but upon fate.

A man whose vices exceed his virtues presently dies in his wickedness, even as it is said: "For the multitude of thine iniquity" (Hosea 9:7). So is a state whose vices exceed presently destroyed, even as it is said: "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorroh is great (Gen. 18:20). So, too, is the whole world, if their vices exceeded their virtues they are presently destroyed, even as it is said: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great" (6:5).

But the weighing of this is not according to the number of virtues and vices, but according to their magnitude. There is a virtue that overbalances many vices, even as it is said: "Because in him there is found some good thing" (I Kings, 14. 13); and there is a kind of vice which overbalances many virtues, even as it is said: "But one sinner destroyeth much good" (Ecc. 9. 18). Moreover these are not weighed by anyone, save only in the knowledge of the All-knowing God, for only He knoweth the estimate of virtues versus vices.

Rabbi Yannai said: it is not in our hands [to explain the reason] either of the security of the wicked, or even of the afflictions of the righteous.