Sometimes, in a weak moment, the thought might cross our
minds that things are not quite fair. When fabric softeners
first came on the market, there was general jubilation;
lovely soft towels to cuddle into. However it soon became
apparent that things are not perfect in this world. The
softener really did work, but the towels were now less
absorbent! Then there was the disposable diaper. How the
mothers blessed the genius whose idea it was. Here, too,
there was a fly in the ointment (literally!) If you have
greasy hands, from baby cream, or wet hands, from wiping him
down, or if you have been using talc, the stickers will not
work, so beware.
These are two 'luxury' items as it were, although some
mothers would hotly deny this! There are some people in this
world who feel that there is general injustice in the world,
(which is really heresy) and would like to balance things
more evenly.
For example: Reuven and Shimon are in the same class. The
former is a bright boy, an excellent student with marvellous
reports for which he gets effusive praise. Shimon is
comparatively slow and struggles hard to achieve even
mediocre results. He is constantly being urged to try harder.
This is where the 'Seekers of Justice' come in. Surely
Reuven, who has so much going for him, does not need that
constant praise? It is the struggling Shimon who rarely hears
a good word, who should be praised. They feel that if they
were running the world, they would manage things
differently.
Gavriel is a healthy well-balanced boy, growing up with
wonderful parents. He is confident, well-liked by pupils and
teachers and wonderfully independent. Pinchos, on the other
hand, is highly sensitive and all the professionals with whom
he has been in contact recommend that he be given extra love
and consideration, and that since he is so vulnerable,
parents and teachers should overlook some of his errors.
Unfortunately, Pinchos was born into a 'problem' family who
have far more important things to worry about than giving
their son extra love and attention.
We might have a sneaking thought that those boys were born
into the wrong families. Pinchos would have done so well with
Gavriel's wonderful parents. In fact, he might not have been
so defenseless in the first place. Whereas Gavriel could have
coped with any difficulties, regardless of the family into
which he was born.
Ruth, mother of a large family, teaches in the mornings and
studies once a week in the afternoon. She takes one of the
children to occupational therapy and a second one needs
regular help with her homework. Besides the ongoing running
of her own home, her aging parents need her help too. Ruth is
snowed under by her numerous responsibilities. Her neighbor
Naomi has three children, the youngest being seven. She does
not go out to work and her parents are in a position to help
her, should the need arise. On the contrary, Naomi has plenty
of spare time to volunteer at chessed organisations:
she even goes to the park sometimes just for the pleasure of
a chat with neighbors.
The obvious question is why was Naomi not given those two
children who needed help with their homework and taking to
occupational therapy. She would have had a more fulfilling
day, and Ruth would have been slightly less pressured.
When Estie buys shoes for her children, she goes by the adage
"you pay for what you get." Cheap is expensive in the long
run. Chedva would also prefer to buy the better quality but
does not have enough money to do so. Paradoxically, Chedva
ends up paying more for her children's shoes, as she has to
replace them more frequently. The same applies to buying in
bulk: she doesn't have the wherewithal to pay for large
amounts, even though it would be cheaper in the long run.
We hear them all the time: shocking stories of large families
left without a breadwinner, for whom someone sets up a trust
fund in the bank. A certain bank manager tells how he just
cannot come to terms with the fact that charedi
families who do not have enough for themselves, donate to
these trust funds. It would be more in place if others, who
have more money than they know what to do with, would give
instead.
We could give many more examples of this seeming inbalance in
the world. We see the anomalies and wish we had a magic wand
to even things out a little. Take from the rich to give to
the poor: take a few children from a large family and give
them to childless couples who are desperate . . . the list is
long. We know that there is no such thing as coincidence.
Hashem plans each event for every one of us. Hashem knows
exactly what is good for us. If wealth were good for a
certain person, He would surely have given it to him. He
apportioned brains in the amounts which are suitable for each
person. (What a person does with his gifts is left to
him!)
Seeming unfairness in the world remind us of the story of
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who coaxed Eliyohu Hanovi to let him
join him on his travels, so that he could better understand
the running of the world. Eliyohu agreed reluctantly but
stipulated that if Rabbi Yehoshua would ask even one
question, that would be the end of their trip together. They
stopped at a hovel where the sole livelihood of the old
couple was the milk of one cow. The host really made them
welcome, and as they left, Eliyohu Hanovi prayed for the cow
to die.
Their next port of call was in sharp contrast, a really
comfortable mansion. The host feasted right royally with his
friends whilst the two guests were given bread in a dingy
corner of the room. As they left, Eliyohu saw that a wall of
the house had collapsed; he prayed that the wall should be
miraculously rebuilt, without the help of any builder. Rabbi
Yehoshua could barely contain his curiosity, but remained
silent.
However, after a few more incidents of this seeming
injustice, Rabbi Yehoshua finally burst out, although he knew
this was the end of the way for him. Eliyohu explained how he
had known that their first hostess was about to die that
night, so he prayed that she might be spared, by losing the
cow instead. A previous owner had buried a treasure inside
the wealthy man's wall. If someone had rebuilt it, the
treasure would have been discovered. Thus Eliyohu explained
each event, and before they parted company, he admonished
Rabbi Yehoshua, "Just remember that when a wicked man enjoys
wealth and other bounties, it is surely for his detriment,
and when you see a tzaddik seemingly overwhelmed with
troubles, rest assured that in the long run it is for his
benefit."
Our limited vision sees only a small part of the whole
picture. If we ask questions, we are like the man who was
examining a complicated machine and asked the purpose of one
small cog in a wheel, without having an inkling of the
workings of the whole machine. We know that the Creator runs
this world with perfect justice which we cannot begin to
fathom.
So instead of harboring thoughts of injustice, we can do our
best to right things in our human way. The rich can help the
poor, the healthy can help the sick, and gifted people can
help the slower ones and so on, remembering at the same time
that while we are trying to alleviate problems, Hashem knows
exactly what He is doing. One of our great men once said,
"Where there is faith, there are no questions, when there is
no faith, there are no answers."
