The tradition owns up to the fact of the inscrutability of wrong [1], yet it counsels us to accept the fact that all is as it must be and is for the good [2]. And let it not be forgotten that God Himself adjudged all of creation to be very good at bottom [3].
Notes:
[1] See God’s statement: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Ex. 33:19) as cited in Berachot 7a.
[2] We’re advised to accustom ourselves to say, “All that the Merciful One does is for the good” (Berachot 60b).
[3] “And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
(c) 2012 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org
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