Introduction
In this section of Chapter 3, Iyov continues to develop his central argument: it would have been better for man never to have been created than to have been created. Iyov does not settle for a broad generalization; rather - and this is the wonder of Sefer Iyov, a profound book that takes a theme and analyzes it thoroughly from every angle - he surveys all the varieties of afflictions that strike mankind, proving his point from every possible angle. It is crucial to state at the outset: these are heretical arguments, and Iyov will receive answers to them later in the book. The hazard with arguments of heresy is that a person sometimes walks away holding onto the question without staying to hear the answer. Therefore, whenever such an argument is voiced, one must know in advance that it is an argument of heresy and not accept it as an axiom.
"I Would Not Be" - When You Are on the Outside, Status Does Not Matter
עִם מְלָכִים וְיֹעֲצֵי אָרֶץ הַבֹּנִים חֳרָבוֹת לָמוֹ׃ אוֹ עִם שָׂרִים זָהָב לָהֶם הַמְמַלְאִים בָּתֵּיהֶם כָּסֶף׃ אוֹ כְנֵפֶל טָמוּן לֹא אֶהְיֶה כְּעֹלְלִים לֹא רָאוּ אוֹר׃ - With kings and counselors of the earth, who build ruins for themselves; or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver; or like a hidden stillborn, I would not be, like infants who never saw light.
The Malbim explains that these three pesukim must be read as a single statement, with each clause connecting to the phrase "I would not be" (לֹא אֶהְיֶה) at the end: with kings and counselors of the earth - I would not be; or with princes who have gold - I would not be; or like a hidden stillborn - I would not be. In other words, "I would not be" applies to all three.
Iyov's meaning is this: today, once I already exist, distinctions in status exist among human beings. There is a king, there are counselors of the earth, there is a minister, and there is the lowest rank - a hidden stillborn, infants who never saw light, an infant less than thirty days old who is still considered like a stillborn, living the most minimal existence, beyond which lies nothingness. All these distinctions matter to a person only once he already exists in the world. Then, if he lacks a certain standing, he feels: I could have reached something more, I could have attained another achievement.
However, if I had never entered the world at all - does it matter to zero what size zero it is? Zero remains zero. If I am non-existent, it makes no difference to me whether I lack one hundred dollars, a thousand, a million, or a hundred million; I still have nothing. A parable illustrates this: consider someone who does not work at a high-tech company - does it bother him that he is not its CEO? Does it bother him that he is not a manager, a clerk, or a cleaner? Not at all, because it is simply not his concern. For someone inside the company, rank matters: why am I only a vice president and not the CEO, or why am I cleaning the restrooms while someone else cleans the offices? But for someone on the outside, those ranks are completely irrelevant.
This is Iyov's argument: had I not come into the world, it would not have bothered me in the least that I am not alongside kings and counselors of the earth, nor with princes who possess gold and fill their houses with silver, nor would the status of a hidden stillborn concern me. Thus, this returns to what he said earlier: "For now I would have been lying down and quiet; I would have slept, then I would have been at rest" - I would have been lying in the grave, and it would not have mattered to me whether I had attained rank and status or not. That would have been the best possible state. Now that I have been brought into the world, life is painful for me, but before that - how wonderful it would have been. And therefore: "Why did I not die from the womb?"
Internal Afflictions: Agitation and Exhaustion
שָׁם רְשָׁעִים חָדְלוּ רֹגֶז וְשָׁם יָנוּחוּ יְגִיעֵי כֹחַ׃ - There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.
Here Iyov begins his systematic analysis: if we examine life, we find that man's troubles outnumber his benefits. There are two categories of evils a person experiences in this world: 1. What he suffers from his own physical being; 2. What reaches him from others, when other people harm him. Afflictions of his own being are also divided into two: internal afflictions - corrupt character traits, anger, pride, and pangs of conscience; and external afflictions - that which he lacks from the outside, everything he desires but fails to attain, things external to himself.
Addressing the internal afflictions, he says: "There the wicked cease from turmoil." The wicked are like a driven sea, all their days filled with agitation, lust, jealousy, and covetousness. Had they never come into the world, they would have had no agitation, no covetousness, and no jealousy. An unborn wicked person envies no one, for jealousy begins only once one is inside the game, asking why he did not achieve a higher rank; one who is outside the game feels no envy at all.
And corresponding to external troubles: "and there the weary are at rest." A person must constantly toil to obtain his needs, to run to business, because he is always seeking to fill a lack. But one who was never born does not need to toil; he does not need to run and exert himself. If so, would it not have been better had man not been created, sparing him so much suffering?
Evils Inflicted by Others: Oppression, Social Status, and Servitude
יַחַד אֲסִירִים שַׁאֲנָנוּ לֹא שָׁמְעוּ קוֹל נֹגֵשׂ׃ - Together prisoners are at ease; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
Now Iyov moves on to the second type of harm - that which comes to a person from others. Oppression is among the harshest afflictions that befall man: the strong rules over the weak, confines him in the dungeon of captivity, and forces him into backbreaking labor. Iyov says: One who never entered the world is indeed akin to a prisoner, for he has never emerged from confinement - yet nevertheless, "they are at ease." The actual prisoner in this world, sitting in prison, hears the voice of the taskmaster; he has a taskmaster who beats him and forces him to fulfill his quota of labor. But one who never came into the world is a prisoner, yet at ease, and "they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster."
קָטֹן וְגָדוֹל שָׁם הוּא וְעֶבֶד חׇפְשִׁי מֵאֲדֹנָיו׃ - Small and great are there alike, and the slave is free from his master.
And there are additional evils stemming from disparities in status between people: the rich rules over the poor, the honored rules over the degraded. All of this exists only here in this world; but there, "small and great are there alike" - the small and the great are equal. For if I never came into the world, what does it matter to me whether I am great or small? It is only once I am here that it bothers me why I did not attain a higher status. When I have attained nothing and never entered the world, what do I care who is rich and who is poor - just like some high-tech company that I have no connection to whatsoever.
And he adds: "and the slave is free from his master." There are evils that stem from the law - such as the institution of slavery, where slaves existed in America until about two hundred years ago. A person decreed to be a slave, purchased by his master with money, would have been spared this misery had he never come into the world. Thus, Iyov enumerated all the types of evil in the world: internal evils arising from one's traits and desires, and external evils arising from the harm inflicted by others - numerous and harsh afflictions that pursue human beings almost all of their days. If so, it would have been better for man had he not been created.
"Small and Great Are There Alike" in the Homily of Chazal
The Yalkut Shimoni on Iyov (Remez 906) interprets the verse homiletically, diverging from its plain meaning according to the Malbim: Rabbi Zeira said to Rabbi Yirmiyah, do we not know that small and great are there? Rather, anyone who makes himself small over words of Torah in this world becomes great in the World to Come, and anyone who makes himself like a slave in this world becomes free in the World to Come. According to the Midrash, it is only in the World of Truth, the eternal world, after a person passes away, that one can truly know who is small and who is great.
And what is the meaning of "and the slave is free from his master"? There is the well-known story of Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya and the dybbuk. When they came to exorcise the dybbuk, it hurled terrible curses. They asked him: Why are you cursing? What does it give you? He replied: It is not in my control; since in this world I was a vile and degraded person who cursed, these words escape my lips involuntarily; I no longer have free choice in the matter. And so it is written in the holy books, that when a person passes away from this world, he remains with all of his desires if he did not rectify them, except that he has no tools to fulfill them: he craves a cigarette - and there is no one to give him one, nor anyone to light him a fire. He has all the desires but no tools - and that is the most agonizing thing. Therefore, the Midrash expounds: "and the slave is free from his master" - one who makes himself like a slave in this world, that is, who breaks his negative traits and natural inclinations, becomes free from his master in the World to Come, free from all his lusts. But one who did not do so still craves all his desires in the World to Come without any way to satisfy them, and that is worse than Gehennom.
And in the words of the Midrash: During his lifetime, man is a servant to his inclination and to his Creator. When he performs the will of his Creator, he angers his inclination, and when he performs the will of his inclination, he angers his Creator. Once he dies - he goes out to freedom. After death, there is no longer a struggle between his inclination and his Creator, there are no more struggles, and only then does he go out to freedom.
"In This World, One Who Is Small Can Become Great"
And another Midrash, in Ruth Rabbah: This is what Scripture says, "Small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master." Rabbi Simon said: This is one of four verses similar to one another. In this world, one who is small can become great, and one who is great can become small; but in the World to Come, one who is small cannot become great, and one who is great cannot become small.
How sobering this is. A person who is small here is still alive, and "a living dog is better than a dead lion": the dead lion cannot achieve anything more than what he already achieved, whereas a living person can attain more and more spiritual attainments. Above, "free among the dead", a deceased person is like a snapshot: however you were photographed, that is it, there are no more changes. In this world, by contrast, one can still change; a person can be great and serve eighty years in the High Priesthood, yet in the end become small.
And the Midrash cites in the name of Rabbi Meir an incident concerning the grandson of Rabbi Yehoshua, who lapsed into unconsciousness for three days during his illness, and after three days his mind settled and he returned to life. His father asked him: Where did you go, and what did you see? He replied: I was in an upside-down world. He asked him: And what did you see there? He replied: I saw many people who are held in honor here, but there are in disgrace. When Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish heard that someone had returned from the World of Truth, they went up to visit him. The father said to them: Have you heard what he is saying? And the lad recounted what had happened. Reish Lakish said: Why are you surprised? It is an explicit verse - "Thus said the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown; this shall not remain as it is; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high." Rabbi Yochanan said: Had I come up only to hear this, it would be enough for me.
The explanation of this matter is: sometimes a person here wears a turban and a crown, appearing elevated - yet ultimately the Holy One, blessed be He, abases him; and sometimes a person here appears lowly, looked down upon and not perceived as someone of stature, but the Holy One, blessed be He, knows his true worth, his character traits and fine qualities, his conduct and his fear of Heaven - and there he reaches a lofty and immense level. It emerges that what we see here in this world is an illusion, a mirage: so it seems to us, this one is righteous and that one is so, we categorize people - but who a person truly is can only be known there.
Why Give Light and Toil to One Who Wants to Die?
לָמָּה יִתֵּן לְעָמֵל אוֹר וְחַיִּים לְמָרֵי נָפֶשׁ׃ - Why does He give light to the toiler, and life to the bitter in soul?
Here Iyov answers a counterargument: After all, there are successful and prosperous people, flourishing and thriving, who have no troubles and whom none of the evils I enumerated touch, and such people certainly prefer living over dying. Iyov replies: Even if so, my question still remains - "Why does He give light to the toiler?" The shining light, when the sun begins to rise, is nothing but misfortune and hardship for the person toiling at his daily labor, for its meaning is that he must return to his hoe and to his hard labor. And what is more: "And life to the bitter in soul" - the bitter in soul, people weary of their lives, gain nothing from their existence, since every day they live serves only to let them witness their distress and suffering, and they yearn for death more than for life and goodness.
Yet ostensibly, one could conduct a simple test: if most people suffer so much, why do they not end their lives? After all, it is not difficult at all. And what do we see? That most people, however darkly Iyov paints the picture, still want to remain here. According to Iyov's reasoning, everyone should have demanded, "Stop the train, I want to get off" - yet they do not do so, but rather stay.
הַמְחַכִּים לַמָּוֶת וְאֵינֶנּוּ וַיַּחְפְּרֻהוּ מִמַּטְמוֹנִים׃ - Who wait for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures.
Therefore Iyov argues: There are those who wait for death, people who would genuinely prefer to die - so why "and it comes not", why does death not come to them? Why does the cosmic order keep them here merely to suffer? A parable illustrates this: A man who longed for death all his days finally dug and found a treasure, and then, for the first time in his life, he said, "Now I want to live." But as he went to haul up the treasure, the trench collapsed upon him and the surrounding earth covered him and buried him there. "Who wait for death, but it comes not" - and when he reached the treasures, only then did he meet death. And this itself demonstrates the great evil emerging from the governance of the celestial order: as long as things were terrible for him and he sought death, he did not receive it, but when a little joy finally arrived and he wanted to live, death was brought upon him.
הַשְּׂמֵחִים אֱלֵי גִיל יָשִׂישׂוּ כִּי יִמְצְאוּ קָבֶר׃ - Who rejoice unto exultation, and are glad when they can find a grave.
Therefore Iyov says: Even those people who rejoice unto exultation, who rejoice over every worldly delight - it would be better for them to exult when they find a grave. For there is nothing in the world as good as the grave, since once a person has a grave, all his troubles are over. The world is full of troubles, suffering, and affliction, and had a person had a grave from the outset - having been stillborn - he would not have suffered all these troubles.
לְגֶבֶר אֲשֶׁר דַּרְכּוֹ נִסְתָּרָה וַיָּסֶךְ אֱלוֹהַּ בַּעֲדוֹ׃ - To a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?
And for whom in particular? "To a man whose way is hidden" - who of his own accord walks in darkness; and not only that, but "and whom God has hedged in" - even if there were any remaining chance for a ray of light from outside, Hashem made a barrier around him so that no light would enter. For such a person, it would certainly have been better had he never entered the world in the first place, and it is he who would rejoice with sheer delight and jubilation upon finding a grave.
The Proof from His Own Situation
כִּי לִפְנֵי לַחְמִי אַנְחָתִי תָבֹא וַיִּתְּכוּ כַמַּיִם שַׁאֲגֹתָי׃ - For my sighing comes before my bread, and my roarings are poured out like water.
Iyov says: And proof of this comes from what happened to me myself. Even though I was a great tzaddik, "my sighing comes before my bread" - the sigh precedes and stands before me, "and my roarings are poured out like water" - my roars pour forth like pouring rain, from the sheer magnitude of troubles and suffering that have come upon me.
כִּי פַחַד פָּחַדְתִּי וַיֶּאֱתָיֵנִי וַאֲשֶׁר יָגֹרְתִּי יָבֹא לִי׃ - For the dread I feared has overtaken me, and that which I dreaded has come upon me.
Here Iyov preemptively refutes a possible claim: it cannot be argued against me that these evils befell me because I failed to take proper precautions, for I was cautious in the best possible way - all my days I feared what would happen to me, and my heart foreboded evil; yet even so, none of it availed me.
The Malbim notes precision in the wording of the verse. "Vaye'etayeni" (has come upon me) is from the root ata, denoting something that has arrived completely, as in "the watchman said, morning has come (ata)" - it has already arrived. This contrasts with "yavo" (comes), which implies poised to come, in progress, not yet finalized - like a person saying, "I am already on my way." Likewise, there is a distinction between pachad (fear) and magor (dread): pachad is fear of an unknown danger, where you do not know what you are afraid of and its source is in the imagination; whereas magor is from something tangible, from what is seen right before one's eyes, as in "terrors all around (megorai missaviv)" in Eichah. Thus he says: I had a general fear of an unknown danger - and "it has overtaken me" in a complete arrival; and from the tangible things I saw and dreaded - "it comes upon me," the actual evil is already prepared and destined to arrive. This proves that all my afflictions are troubles stemming from the celestial order, afflictions destined for me, for I always sensed they were bound to come.
לֹא שָׁלַוְתִּי וְלֹא שָׁקַטְתִּי וְלֹא נָחְתִּי וַיָּבֹא רֹגֶז׃ - I had no ease, nor had I quiet, nor was I at rest; and turmoil came.
"I had no ease" - do not attribute what happened to me to mere coincidence. For when you see that the tragedies struck in relentless succession, "while this one was still speaking, another came," this proves that it was no accident. What is more, the afflictions arrived in a specific order: first he lost all his possessions - which are the most external; then he lost his children - who are closer to him; and finally came the afflictions of his own body - which are the closest of all. The relentless urgency and deliberate sequence of events prove that this was organized and planned, that it was directed intentionally.
From this, Iyov concludes: it cannot be that this came about because of my sins, nor can it be that I am wicked, for I am a tzaddik. Inevitably, then, this stems from the celestial order and from the ill constellation under which I was born. An adverse constellation makes no distinction between good and bad, which demonstrates that there is no reward and punishment in ultimate reality - for what governs man is solely the celestial mechanism, and man is compelled in all his matters to do good or evil; consequently, there is no place to reward him when he does good, nor to punish him when he does evil. Everything is planned, but that planning is dictated by a celestial system that deals cruelly with man. If so, why was I brought into the world at all? Thus far Iyov's arguments.
In summary:
In these verses, Iyov constructs a complete and systematic argument: had he never come into the world, his place on the hierarchy would not have concerned him at all, for one who is not part of existence feels neither envy nor lack. From there, he surveys all the evils of man - the internal ones stemming from his character traits and desires, the external ones in his toil to obtain his needs, and those inflicted by others: oppression, extortion, the rich man's dominion over the poor, and the subjugation of the slave to his master - and concludes that it would be better for man never to have been created. He further contends that the celestial order itself acts with cruelty, for death does not come to those who wait for it, yet once a desire to live awakens within them - it pounces upon them. He brings proof from his own life: all his days he feared and took precautions, and yet tribulations befell him in a precise and calculated order; hence, this was not a punishment for sin but a decree of celestial fate, meaning there is no reward and punishment. In contrast, we learn the teachings of Chazal, which completely overturn this perspective: "The small and the great are there" - only in the World of Truth is it revealed who is truly great and who is small, for here everything is an illusion; "and the servant is free from his master" - one who makes himself a servant in this world and breaks his base traits emerges into freedom from his desires in the World to Come. From this we see the immense value of this world specifically, for here the small can become great, whereas in the world above, change is no longer possible.