Rambam, who addressed the issue in light of the righteous Job’s suffering, asserts that we’re never to forget that God’s ways are essentially unfathomable, but he adds that not only will the wrongful who did well in this world suffer in the afterlife, but their descendants will suffer as well (though it’s not clear whether those descendants will suffer in this life or the afterlife). And he agrees that the righteous person’s few sins would cause his suffering (Moreh Nevuchim 3:23). But he maintains that whatever bad happens to the righteous only happens to them when they’re not dwelling on God’s presence, for no harm could come to them when they do (Moreh Nevuchim 3:51).
(c) 2014 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org
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Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).
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