GEN1252 [T]here is no such thing as abolishing or wiping clean the slate of unethical behavior. For just as the ethical concepts are eternal so the punishments for their transgression are likewise eternal, for God is eternal and His laws are eternal. There is a price which must be paid for unethical conduct regardless of the circumstances attendant upon such conduct. In the Book of Genesis there is told the story of conflict between the two brothers, Jacob and Esau. They strove one with the other for the blessings of their father Isaac. Jacob outwitted Esau and received the blessings for himself and the people of Israel. His action was necessary and had to be done, but in the doing of it Esau suffered. When Esau learned that Jacob had taken the blessings from him, the Bible tells us, “he cried with a great and bitter cry.” [this verse] A man was hurt; a man had suffered in the course of another man’s duty. Jewish ethics teach us that a cry of human suffering cannot be lost. If a cry of human hurt is heard in the world that cry must be answered, for if it were not answered the concept of justice would be lacking. Justice demands retribution for every wrong, punishment for every injury, comfort for every cry, assuagement for every hurt. Esau had cried a “great and bitter cry.” He had been hurt and his cry must be answered. It does not matter when it is answered, but the people of Israel would have to answer for that cry – and so they did: In the days of Haman, around which the story of Purim revolves, Mordecai, when he heard of Haman’s evil dictates, went out into the city. And the Book of Esther uses the same words which the Book of Genesis uses: Mordecai “cried a great and bitter cry.”   Esther 4:1 Exactly the same cry as Esau’s. The Rabbis tell us that these words are measured; no more, no less. The Jewish people, through Jacob, had caused a hurt in the world. They, in turn, must now feel that hurt, for nothing is lost. No human cry is ever unheard. Justice demands an even balance of all things. This was the even balance. Midrash Rabboh The laws of ethics are often expressed in language which is even more emphatic than that used for the observance of ritualistic practices.   For example, in commanding us to be just, the Bible says, “Justice, justice shalt thou purse.” Deuteronomy 16:20   The word “justice” is repeated. The Bible does not say “Shabbos, Shabbos shalt thou keep.” Nor does it say, “The swine, the swine shalt thou not eat.”  But the Bible states “Justice, justice” – twice – as though to emphasize that there can be no end to the pursuit of justice.   BUILD 208