Introduction: Continuation of Iyov's Reply to Bildad
In our chapter, Iyov continues to answer Bildad the Shuchite. There are two distinct directions in his words: on the one hand, he concedes that he has no complaint against the Holy One, blessed be He, regarding the general governance of the universe - there, everything is good, and what evil exists is minimal and natural; on the other hand, he denies individual divine providence (hashgachah pratit) that judges every person according to their deeds, arguing that the world has been handed over to "the system," which makes no distinction between the blameless and the wicked. Let us emphasize from the outset: we are explaining Iyov's claims, not the truth. The truth is that there is hashgachah pratit over even a mosquito, and all the more so if the Holy One, blessed be He, decides to extinguish the sun. However, in order not to portray the Creator of the universe as unjust, as it were, Iyov constructs an entire philosophical system of his own.
"Who Speaks to the Sun" - When the Sun Goes Dark
הָאֹמֵר לַחֶרֶס וְלֹא יִזְרָח וּבְעַד כּוֹכָבִים יַחְתֹּם׃ - Who speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and seals up the stars.
Cheres means the sun. Thus we find in Shimshon's riddle: "Before the sun went down (b'terem yavo hacharsah)" - before sunset you must solve the riddle. And thus we find regarding the burial place of Yehoshua, "Timnat Cheres," where an image of the sun was placed on his grave to declare: this is the man who caused the sun to stand still in the heavens.
Says Iyov: If the Holy One, blessed be He, decides to tell the sun not to rise anymore, and seals up the stars so they do not shine, and they all cease from their work - who would come and argue that Hashem did this out of fury and wrath? This is the meaning of the verse earlier, "Who has defied Him and remained whole?" For our solar system is merely one out of hundreds and thousands of systems; there are countless other suns. If so, extinguishing one sun is a minuscule fraction of all existence, and it is a natural breakdown rather than an act of divine anger.
Indeed, from the perspective of nature, the sun operates on gases - and should have burned out long ago. Anyone who has ever replaced a gas cylinder at home understands the concept. The very fact that the sun still exists shows that something here transcends nature (even if science explains it through nuclear processes). Yet even if we were informed that the sun had run out of fuel - would we say, "Hashem is a God of vengeance"? Iyov argues: absolutely not. This is simply natural decay stemming from the fact that matter is subject to deterioration, and nothing material lasts forever.
"Who Alone Stretches Out the Heavens" - The Insignificance of Evil Before the Vastness of Existence
נֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם לְבַדּוֹ וְדוֹרֵךְ עַל־בָּמֳתֵי יָם׃ - Who alone stretches out the heavens, and treads upon the heights of the sea.
Hashem alone stretches out the heavens; He is the One Who made everything and created everything. And "treads upon the heights of the sea" is a metaphor: as if a giant stands upon the heights of the sea and holds up the heavens so that they do not fall.
עֹשֶׂה־עָשׁ כְּסִיל וְכִימָה וְחַדְרֵי תֵמָן׃ - He makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
עֹשֶׂה גְדֹלוֹת עַד־אֵין חֵקֶר וְנִפְלָאוֹת עַד־אֵין מִסְפָּר׃ - Who does great things beyond fathom, and wondrous deeds without number.
In the grand totality of existence, the sun and the moon are not even a grain of sand. The Holy One, blessed be He, makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south, great things beyond searching out and wonders without number - how many stars there are, how many galaxies there are. If so, what is that minor evil of one sun being extinguished here?
'Behold, He passes by me' - The Kal Vachomer to the Individual
הֵן יַעֲבֹר עָלַי וְלֹא אֶרְאֶה וְיַחֲלֹף וְלֹא־אָבִין לוֹ׃ - Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see; He glides past, and I do not perceive Him.
הֵן יַחְתֹּף מִי יְשִׁיבֶנּוּ מִי־יֹאמַר אֵלָיו מַה־תַּעֲשֶׂה׃ - Behold, He snatches away, who can turn Him back? Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?'
From here, Iyov reasons an a fortiori argument (kal vachomer): If He passes by and glides over me and I do not perceive it, and He snatches me away and destroys me - what can I answer? Who can turn Him back, and who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?' For what am I in comparison to the totality of existence, to all the worlds, to all the galaxies? Not even a tiny mosquito. If so, I have no grievance against the Creator of the universe. And now, Bildad, why do you come to me with the challenge, 'Does God pervert justice?' I am not accusing God at all: whatever suffering I bear is merely an infinitesimal speck compared to the totality of good in existence, and according to the laws of nature, this is how it must be.
'God will not turn back His anger' - The Refutation of the Idea of Compensation
אֱלוֹהַּ לֹא־יָשִׁיב אַפּוֹ תַּחְתָּו שָׁחֲחוּ עֹזְרֵי רָהַב׃ - God will not turn back His anger; beneath Him the helpers of arrogance bowed down.
אַף כִּי־אָנֹכִי אֶעֱנֶנּוּ אֶבְחֲרָה דְבָרַי עִמּוֹ׃ - How much less can I answer Him, or choose my words with Him!
Here Iyov begins to answer Bildad, who claimed that suffering comes by way of compensation (temurah), and that if Iyov prays and seeks God early, Hashem will make his latter end great and grant him good in place of evil. Iyov replies: If a tyrannical judge decrees that a person be tormented without any cause, and the defendant's just arguments fail to persuade him, what good will supplications do him? 'God will not turn back His anger' - He does not turn His wrath away from me. 'Beneath Him the helpers of arrogance bowed down' - like a tyrannical ruler who has beneath him subservient servants and officers bowed to his authority, helping him to prey, destroy, and commit injustices, serving as his agents. And even though 'I could answer Him' - I have just and upright arguments against Him, and 'I could choose my words with Him' - well-selected arguments proving that I have not sinned - He does not turn back His anger.
אֲשֶׁר אִם־צָדַקְתִּי לֹא אֶעֱנֶה לִמְשֹׁפְטִי אֶתְחַנָּן׃ - Though I were righteous, I could not answer; I could only plead for mercy from my Judge.
If I am in the right and He is not willing to accept my arguments, would I prevail through supplications? A judge who is unmoved by justice will certainly not be moved by supplication.
אִם־קָרָאתִי וַיַּעֲנֵנִי לֹא־אַאֲמִין כִּי־יַאֲזִין קוֹלִי׃ - If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He would listen to my voice.
אֲשֶׁר־בִּשְׂעָרָה יְשׁוּפֵנִי וְהִרְבָּה פְצָעַי חִנָּם׃ - For He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause.
There are two stages here: the stage of acknowledgment - 'We have heard your claims,' and the stage of resolution. We are all familiar with the standard reply: 'Your request is being processed' - meaning take your time, it is doubtful anything will ever come of it. Therefore Iyov says: Even if I called out and He answered me, that does not guarantee He would accept my arguments; 'I would not believe that He would listen to my voice' - to actually fulfill my petition. Nor do I believe that One Who struck me with cruel blows without cause would treat me with kindness: 'For He crushes me with a tempest' - in a tempest He battered my entire body and multiplied my wounds for nothing, and yet He would listen to my supplications?
'With a Tempest He Blasphemed, and with a Tempest They Answered Him' - Iyov or Oyev
Our Sages taught: Rabbah said, Iyov blasphemed with a tempest (*se'arah*), and with a tempest they answered him. He blasphemed toward Above - 'For He crushes me with a tempest,' and they answered him from the tempest - 'Then Hashem answered Iyov out of the tempest.' Iyov argued before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, perhaps a tempestuous wind passed before You, and You confused Iyov with *oyev* (enemy)? A startling claim: perhaps in the master ledger 'enemy' appeared in place of 'Iyov'?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, answered him from the tempest: 'Gird your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you inform Me.' I have created many follicles - hairs (*se'arot*) - on a human being, and for each and every hair I created an individual follicle, so that two would not draw nourishment from a single follicle, for had they done so, they would have dimmed a person's vision and blinded him. A person has thousands upon thousands of hairs on his head - and between one follicle and another I was not confused, yet between Iyov and *oyev* I would be confused?
'Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain' - I have created many drops in the clouds, and for each and every drop I created its own mold, a distinct path of its own, so that two drops would not emerge from a single mold, for had they done so, they would wash away the earth and prevent it from bearing fruit. Between one drop and another I was not confused, yet between Iyov and *oyev* I would be confused?
'And a path for the lightning flash of thunder' - I have created many sounds, which are the thunderclaps, in the clouds, and for each and every sound a pathway of its own, so that two sounds would not emerge from a single path, for had they done so, they would destroy the entire world. Between one sound and another I was not confused, yet between Iyov and *oyev* I would be confused?
'Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you mark the calving of the hinds?' - The hind gives birth only when a snake bites her to induce labor, and an eagle comes and catches the newborn. If the eagle misses or the snake misses, the mother dies in childbirth or the newborn perishes among the rocks. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, dispatches the snake and the eagle to perform their roles at the exact split second. Between one moment and another I was not confused, yet between Iyov and *oyev* I would be confused? The full explanation of these matters will be examined in their proper place later in the book; they are mentioned here because this is where Iyov's argument begins.
'He Will Not Allow Me to Catch My Breath' - Not a Moment of Respite
לֹא־יִתְּנֵנִי הָשֵׁב רוּחִי כִּי יַשְׂבִּעַנִי מַמְּרֹרִים׃ - He will not allow me to catch my breath, for He sates me with bitterness.
It is not enough that Hashem does not heed my voice to alleviate my suffering; rather, He adds further affliction, to the point that He does not even allow me to breathe. When I cry out, breath leaves me, and He does not allow me to draw breath again to cry out a second time - 'He will not allow me to catch my breath.' Why? 'For He sates me with bitterness' - He immediately inflicts harsher suffering upon me, until I am short of breath from the sheer intensity of the pain.
אִם־לְכֹחַ אַמִּיץ הִנֵּה וְאִם־לְמִשְׁפָּט מִי יוֹעִידֵנִי׃ - If it is a matter of strength, behold, He is mighty; and if of justice, who will summon Me?
What reason could bring the Holy One, blessed be He, to change His mind from the attribute of cruelty to the attribute of mercy? If by strength - "Behold, He is mighty," His power is greater than mine. And if by justice - "who will summon Me," who will subpoena Him to judgment on my behalf? Yoideni is an expression of meeting or gathering, as in the verse "Can two walk together unless they have met?" - meaning someone summoned them. Who could serve the Creator of the Universe a summons in hand and say: Iyov is calling You to court?
"If I Am Righteous, My Mouth Will Condemn Me" - A Rigged Trial
אִם־אֶצְדָּק פִּי יַרְשִׁיעֵנִי תָּם־אָנִי וַיַּעְקְשֵׁנִי׃ - If I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; though I am blameless, it will prove me perverse.
Here Iyov makes an intricate argument: this is the kind of trial where if I am vindicated, it means I am convicted. For in what way would I be right? In proving that the Judge struck me for no reason and wronged me. And immediately they will say to me: You make such a claim against Hashem? Why, you have just become wicked! "My mouth will condemn me" - the very arguments condemn me. "Though I am blameless, it will prove me perverse" - the very claim that I am blameless and righteous is the proof that I am perverting my ways, since I am attributing injustice to Hashem, may He be blessed. It is like defeating the king in a contest: woe to you if you lose, and woe to you if you win. If you do not win - you lost; if you do win - they take off your head.
תָּם־אָנִי לֹא־אֵדַע נַפְשִׁי אֶמְאַס חַיָּי׃ - I am blameless, I do not know my soul; I despise my life.
And even if I say that I am blameless - "I do not know my soul," perhaps I am truly wicked without knowing it, and perhaps Hashem knows of some wicked deed in me that I am unaware of. In that case, I would be justifying Eliphaz's claim, "Can mortal man be more righteous than God?" To this Iyov says: "I despise my life" - I would rather despise my life than say such a thing. Am I so foolish that I do not know what is righteous and what is wicked? Am I so devoid of understanding that I do not know whether I have done good deeds or not? And indeed, on this point Iyov was right all along: there was no wrongdoing and no wickedness in him.
"He Destroys Both the Blameless and the Wicked" - The System of General Governance
אַחַת הִיא עַל־כֵּן אָמַרְתִּי תָּם וְרָשָׁע הוּא מְכַלֶּה׃ - It is all one; therefore I said: He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
From here Iyov arrives at his conclusion: there is no individual Divine providence (hashgachah pratit) that judges man according to his deeds. First, in his view, man is compelled in his actions and lacks free will. Second, there is a general governance, a system guided by the celestial bodies and the stars, which operates in a routine, fixed manner and makes no distinction between the blameless and the wicked. This is the very principle we explained: embedded within physical matter itself is the nature of decay, and there is no physical entity that does not eventually perish.
To what can this be compared? When it rains, no one says: "So-and-so is a righteous man walking down the street without a hat, so rain will not fall on him." Rain falls on everyone alike. Granted, we have also seen instances of selective rain - they tell of people who visited the gravesite of the tzaddik in Morocco, I believe Rabbi Amram ben Diwan, and Ze'ev Revach was also there, and as they prayed at the grave the sky clouded over and a torrential downpour began, yet precisely where the group stood and prayed, not a single drop fell. But Iyov argued: nature acts upon everyone together. If there is an earthquake - "He destroys both the blameless and the wicked," nature does not distinguish individuals.
אִם־שׁוֹט יָמִית פִּתְאֹם לְמַסַּת נְקִיִּם יִלְעָג׃ - If a scourge slays suddenly, He mocks at the despair of the innocent.
Bildad assumed that suffering comes upon the righteous person to increase his reward, or to test whether he will withstand the trial without questioning Hashem's attributes, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, will grant him double in place of the misfortune. Iyov responds: That is true if at the end of the suffering, the righteous person is still alive. But if he dies in his suffering - where is the recompense? He died along the way. And Iyov, as is known, did not believe in life in the World to Come, so he could not say, "I will suffer here and receive my reward there." Furthermore, Iyov was already on the verge of death, as he argued in chapter 6 that he had no chance of recovery, that his body had reached a point of no return. If so, why speak to me of future compensation? One who dies along the way never reaches the destination to collect his reward.
"The Earth Is Given into the Hand of the Wicked" - The Parable of the Cruel Governor
אֶרֶץ נִתְּנָה בְיַד־רָשָׁע פְּנֵי־שֹׁפְטֶיהָ יְכַסֶּה אִם־לֹא אֵפוֹא מִי־הוּא׃ - The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the faces of its judges. If not he, then who is it?
Here Iyov returns to what he said in verse 22: everything depends on that blind governance of the cosmic system, and the Holy One, blessed be He, entrusted the governance of the world into its hands. This is like a great and righteous king who entrusted the leadership of the realm to a wicked governor, and the governor acted with cruelty; and since he fears lest the matter become known to the king, he conducts his deeds in secret. "The earth is given into the hand of the wicked" - and that wicked one "covers the faces of its judges," concealing his injustices from those who appointed him and devising schemes so that the cry of the inhabitants of the world will not reach the ears of the Supreme Judge. "If not he, then who is it?" - for if he did not do this, who did? Hashem? That is impossible! Therefore, I must conclude that Hashem is righteous, and the evil in the world is minuscule compared to the good and is an unavoidable consequence of the physical nature of creation; and if you ask why the righteous and the wicked are judged alike - it is not Hashem, but the celestial system He appointed, which conducts affairs unjustly.
And one must note: we know the backstory - that the Holy One, blessed be He, placed Iyov into the hands of the Satan - but nothing was revealed to Iyov. It was revealed to us, but we should not draw conclusions from this regarding the substance of Iyov's arguments, for he knew nothing of this.
"They Glide By with Ships of Desire" - Does Evil Give Birth to Good?
וְיָמַי קַלּוּ מִנִּי־רָץ בָּרְחוּ לֹא־רָאוּ טוֹבָה׃ - Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they have seen no good.
חָלְפוּ עִם־אֳנִיּוֹת אֵבֶה כְּנֶשֶׁר יָטוּשׂ עֲלֵי־אֹכֶל׃ - They glide by with ships of desire, like an eagle swooping down upon its food.
There was another way to understand Bildad's words: that the suffering of the righteous is by way of compensation in the sense that good cannot be attained unless evil precedes it. An animal does not obtain food unless it exerts effort. One who wishes to plant a tree takes a seed and places it in the ground, and first of all, the seed rots. For an egg to yield a chick, it must decompose, and the seed that forms a human being putrefies for three days. In other words, every bad thing is a cause and precursor to good, and it is the nature of things that evil gives birth to good.
To this Iyov replies: "My days are swifter than a runner" - my days flee like a swift-footed runner. "They glide by with ships of desire" - like a person who sails on a ship because he desires and longs to do so (ebeh stemming from desire), and endures the seasickness that accompanies the voyage, for there is no choice: to reach the silver and gold in Africa and bring them here, one must endure seasickness. And likewise, "like an eagle swooping down upon its food" - the eagle must fly, exert itself, toil, and search in order to obtain food. This is the parable: to attain good, one must pass through evil.
However, Iyov argues, this is where I get stuck: with animals, I understand the connection - if you did not toil, you do not receive. In an egg, I understand the connection, that decomposition is part of the development of the chick. In a seed, I understand the connection. But with suffering - where is the logical connection between the suffering and the good that will follow it? What does one have to do with the other?
"If I Say, 'I Will Forget My Complaint'" - If Compensation Is a Reward
אִם־אָמְרִי אֶשְׁכְּחָה שִׂיחִי אֶעֶזְבָה פָנַי וְאַבְלִיגָה׃ - If I say, "I will forget my complaint; I will leave off my sad face and be comforted."
יָגֹרְתִּי כָל־עַצְּבֹתָי יָדַעְתִּי כִּי־לֹא תְנַקֵּנִי׃ - I dread all my griefs; I know that You will not hold me guiltless.
And if you say that the compensation is not an intrinsic, necessary connection but rather a form of reward - where the Holy One, blessed be He, decides to grant good in exchange for suffering. A parable for this is a child who brings home a test with a score of one hundred, and the parent gives him a candy. Is there an intrinsic connection between a score of one hundred and candy? None at all; it was the parent's decision to link them together. By contrast, lightning and thunder have an intrinsic connection of cause and effect: an explosion occurred, and therefore there is thunder, whether you hear it or not. Here, too, there is a reward for exertion, but it is contingent upon the giver's discretion, unlike an animal that toils and obtains food, where the exertion itself directly yields the food.
And if so, Iyov says to Bildad, you contradict yourself. For you told me to accept suffering with joy, while on the other hand, the good is granted specifically in exchange for the suffering. It turns out, then, that it would actually be worthwhile for me to suffer and endure greater anguish rather than rejoice in suffering, because the more I suffer, the more good I will receive later; and if I overcome it and feel no suffering at all, I will not be entitled to good. And this is the meaning of: 'If I say, I will forget my complaint' - if I decide to abandon my grievances, 'and strengthen myself' - gather strength and not feel the grief; 'I dread all my griefs' - I am afraid that I must feel the pain after all, 'I know that You will not hold me guiltless' - for according to your view, what merits good for me is the pain itself, and if I do not grieve, I will receive no good.
'I shall be condemned' - Preemptive suffering for what is destined to occur
אָנֹכִי אֶרְשָׁע לָמָּה־זֶּה הֶבֶל אִיגָע׃ - I shall be condemned; why then should I toil in vain?
אִם־הִתְרָחַצְתִּי בְמֵי־שָׁלֶג וַהֲזִכּוֹתִי בְּבֹר כַּפָּי׃ - If I were to wash myself in snow-water, and cleanse my hands with soap,
אָז בַּשַּׁחַת תִּטְבְּלֵנִי וְתִעֲבוּנִי שַׂלְמוֹתָי׃ - Then You would plunge me into the pit, and my own clothes would abhor me.
There is another way to explain this compensation: that suffering comes now so that a person will not sin in the future, like the case of Chanoch - 'and he was no more, for God took him,' whom the Holy One, blessed be He, took because He foresaw that he would eventually become wicked. Iyov says: I cannot understand such a thing. 'Why then should I toil in vain?' - why should I exert myself now for nothing, since the suffering I receive is futile, without cause? 'If I were to wash myself in snow-water, and cleanse my hands with soap' - as long as I purify myself, washing my hands with cleansing soap and immersing in snow-water, which is to say, as long as I am righteous - what logic is there in afflicting me today merely so that I will not sin in the future? Does one collect payment in advance on account?
'Then You would plunge me into the pit' - then, when I actually sin, then plunge me into the pit, into the suffering and Gehinnom that I deserve. 'And my own clothes would abhor me' - then the punishment would be fitting on account of my own conduct, and even my garments would be stripped from me rightfully, as it would be deserved due to the sin I committed. But today, when I have as yet no iniquities - why am I being afflicted?
'There is no arbiter between us' - No one to decide between Iyov and his Creator
כִּי־לֹא־אִישׁ כָּמוֹנִי אֶעֱנֶנּוּ נָבוֹא יַחְדָּו בַּמִּשְׁפָּט׃ - For He is not a man like me that I might answer Him, that we should come together in judgment.
The Holy One, blessed be He, is not a man like me whom I could answer, and even if it could be imagined that I could compel Him and summon Him to judgment so that we would come together - my arguments would be silenced when standing before Him out of sheer dread and awe.
לֹא יֵשׁ־בֵּינֵינוּ מוֹכִיחַ יָשֵׁת יָדוֹ עַל־שְׁנֵינוּ׃ - There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand upon us both.
There is no judge to be found who could determine who is in the right, me or the Creator of the world, and who could lay his hand upon both of us so that the Holy One, Blessed is He, would be bound to obey his verdict. It is impossible for me to emerge vindicated in such a judgment - for is there any judge or arbiter to whose authority the Holy One, Blessed is He, is subject?
Regarding these words, Rav said in the Gemara (Bava Batra 16a): "Dust into the mouth of Iyov" - let Iyov's mouth be filled with dust; is there any servant who rebukes his master? What does it mean when you say "let him lay his hand upon us both", that there should be an arbiter to judge us and compel the Creator of the world? Is He your equal? Dust into his mouth!
"Remove His Rod from Me" - Requesting the Conditions for Trial
יָסֵר מֵעָלַי שִׁבְטוֹ וְאֵמָתוֹ אַל־תְּבַעֲתַנִּי׃ - Let Him remove His rod from me, and let not His dread terrify me.
Iyov asks that the Holy One, Blessed is He, remove the rod from upon him - the stick, which represents his afflictions - and also His dread, that it not terrify him, so that he will not fear to speak and argue his claims, neither out of fear of punishment nor out of awe of His exalted majesty. When I come to judgment with Him, I request that it be in a state where fear and dread of Hashem do not surround me.
אֲדַבְּרָה וְלֹא אִירָאֶנּוּ כִּי לֹא־כֵן אָנֹכִי עִמָּדִי׃ - Then I would speak and not fear Him, for it is not so with me.
And then, "I would speak and not fear Him" - I could speak without fear; "for it is not so with me" - I could say before Him that my view is different, and that I consider my afflictions to be without cause. If only I had this opportunity: to stand in judgment with the Creator of the world, and to have someone between us who could arbitrate who is in the right.
In summary:
In this chapter, Iyov builds an entire system: in general providence, all is good, and that which appears bad - the darkening of the sun or loss in nature - is miniscule compared to the vastness of existence, and is necessitated by the nature of physical matter that is destined to perish. Therefore, he has no grievance against the Creator of the world, and he rejects Bildad's accusation that he attributes injustice to Above. Rather, from this point he goes on to argue that the world has been handed over to a blind "system" that does not distinguish between the blameless and the wicked; he rejects the compensation offered by Bildad (for one who dies in affliction never lives to receive reward, and there is no logical link between affliction and good); and he requests a trial with his Creator without fear or dread, with an arbiter deciding between them. Regarding this final request, Chazal said: "Dust into the mouth of Iyov - is there any servant who rebukes his master?" And amidst this, we learned the answer of the Holy One, Blessed is He, from the whirlwind: He who fashioned an individual follicle for every hair, a distinct mold for every raindrop, and a path for every thunderclap, and directs the exact moment of birth of the mountain goats - if between follicle and follicle, drop and drop, and sound and sound He made no mistake, would He mistake Iyov for an enemy (oyev)?