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Why doesn't God punish evildoers immediately and directly? Koheles 5:7 reveals that delayed or indirect punishment shows consequences flow from harmful actions themselves, not divine anger at disobedience. This principle transforms parenting: rules must clearly benefit the child's development, not parental convenience or ego.
Rabbi Zweig analyzes Koheles 5:7, which discusses seeing corruption and oppression in society without immediate divine punishment. The verse states that when one sees 'robbing the poor' and 'robbing of justice,' one should not be bewildered about what God is doing, because God is still in control. Rashi (רש"י) explains this can mean either that God punishes through intermediaries (like other nations) rather than directly, or that God sometimes delays punishment entirely, and in both cases people shouldn't think God is absent. The core insight is that God's system of justice is designed to communicate that it's 'not about Him' but 'about us.' When God punishes immediately and directly, it appears personal - as if the punishment is for disobeying God rather than for the inherent harm caused by wrong actions. By using intermediaries or delaying punishment, God demonstrates that the consequences flow from the natural harmful effects of bad choices, not from divine anger at disobedience.
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Koheles 5:7
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Why does Koheles say the rich person can't sleep while the worker sleeps peacefully? The shiur develops a yesod that wealth, like children, represents divine stewardship rather than personal gifts. This reframes parental anxiety and financial responsibility as purposeful vigilance about fulfilling our divine mandate rather than protecting what we own.
