Divine Justice and Parenting: Lessons from Koheles 5:7

Full Summary

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. This principle applies powerfully to parenting. Rabbi Zweig argues that all household rules and punishments should clearly be for the child's benefit, not the parent's convenience or ego. When a parent reacts immediately to disobedience, especially when personally insulted, the child may perceive the punishment as being about the parent's hurt feelings rather than about learning proper behavior. Sometimes withholding immediate punishment, though it may send mixed messages to other children, preserves the more crucial message that the system exists for the child's development, not parental control. The shiur addresses the profound theological challenge of the Holocaust. Some people see terrible suffering of righteous people and conclude there is no God. Rabbi Zweig argues this challenge stems from a flawed premise - that life is only 70 years and justice must be comprehensible within that timeframe. However, if one accepts that life is eternal and God's justice operates on an eternal timeline, then even seemingly 'cruel and unusual' suffering can be understood as spiritually curative, like painful medical treatments that cure cancer. Regarding righteous people who suffered, Rabbi Zweig explains that 'righteous' in this context means those with more merits than sins (51%+), not perfect people. When God gives 'domain' (rashus) to destructive forces, even those with mostly good deeds can be held accountable for their remaining imperfections. No human being except possibly the greatest tzadikim are completely without fault, and even tiny imperfections need correction for eternal perfection. The fundamental message is that God's entire system prioritizes human development and eternal rectification over immediate behavioral control. This requires tremendous divine self-restraint, just as effective parenting requires parents to sometimes withhold immediate consequences to preserve the child's understanding that rules exist for their benefit, not parental convenience.