DEUT1580 When the righteous are afflicted and the wicked prosper. One might say: We see some righteous individuals who obtain their livelihood only after hard work and toil, while many transgressors are at ease and pass their lives in prosperity and comfort. Our reply is that the prophets and pietists already inquired into this problem. One of them asks, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” (Yirmeyahu 12:1). Another says, “Why do You show me wrongdoing and look upon vice? Violence and oppression are before me; there is strife, and contention rises.... For the wicked surround the righteous” (Chavakkuh 1:3-4); “Why keep silent when the wicked man devours one more righteous than he?” (ibid. 1:13). Another has said, “Such are the wicked; ever at ease, they increase in wealth. In vain have I kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence. For I have been constantly afflicted, and I am chastened every morning” (Tehillim 73:12-14). Another, speaking for his contemporaries, said, “They have tried God and escaped” (Malachi 3:15). And there are many other similar passages. The prophet refrained, however, from giving an answer to explain the reason for this, because the reason for the trial of each one of the saints--and [the reason for] the prosperity in this world of each one of the wicked--differs from that of the other. [Moshe’s] comment on the matter [in the Torah] was rather, “The hidden thing belongs to Hashem our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and to our children” (Devarim 29:28). Similarly, the Wise Man said, “If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and right in a country, do not wonder at [His] Will” (Koheles 5:7). And Scripture says, “The Rock, His deeds are perfect, for all His ways are just” (Devarim 32:4).
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