Hi,
What differences do you see between Avraham's declaration below, and Job's?
"Rabbi Levi said: Two men said the same thing, Avraham and
Job.
"Avraham said (Bereishit 18:25, regarding the destruction of Sodom), 'It would be a disgrace for You to do
something like this, to kill the righteous with the wicked.'
"Job said (Job 9:22), 'It is all one, thus I have said: Complete and wicked, he destroys.'
"But
Avraham was rewarded, and Job was punished! For Avraham said something mature; Job
said something underripe."
(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 49:9)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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We recently discussed on Avodah (here) the Mechilta (Bo #11):
ReplyDeleteבשעה שניתנה רשות למשחית לחבל אינו מבחין בין צדיק לרשע
At a time when the destroyer is given license to harm, he does not distinguish between tzadiq and rasha.
In terms of Divine Justice, it sounds Jobian.
It also raises questions about personalized Divine Providence (hashgachah peratis -- HP). For example, Rashi (Shemos 12:22 ) quotes this idea, the Ramban objects, but not on the grounds of HP. Which is odd, because the Ramban believes that every event in people's lives (although that's not every event in the universe) is subject to HP.
And I understand that HP could involve Hashem tailoring an event for reasons other than t being a reward or punishment. But that isn't, to my ear, "eino mavchin" allowing the destroying angel license to just attack whomever.
In any case, how does the Mekhilta differ from Iyov?