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How can God create a world that appears to be an 'Olam HaSheker' where divine justice is hidden and we cannot even discern who is truly righteous? The shiur develops Rashi (רש"י)'s insight that God sacrifices His obvious presence to create the perfect afterlife system - punishing tzadikim here so they bypass Gehenna, rewarding resha'im here so they don't corrupt Gan Eden. The phrase 'ein b'yadeinu' reflects our loving response: if we could choose, we'd prefer less reward for ourselves so God's presence could be manifest.
Rabbi Zweig delivers a sophisticated analysis of the Mishna in Pirkei Avos (4:14) where Rabbi Yannai states 'ein b'yadeinu' - we cannot understand why the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. He explains that the traditional understanding misses the deeper question. The real issue isn't why good things happen to bad people - we know God rewards the wicked here to punish them later, and punishes the righteous here to reward them later. The profound question is: how can God create a world that appears to be an 'Olam HaSheker' (world of falsehood) where we cannot discern God's presence or even determine who is truly righteous? This creates enormous frustration as we live unable to see divine justice, potentially leading to doubt about God's existence itself. Rabbi Zweig presents Rashi (רש"י)'s two interpretations, focusing on the second: that everyone has a share in both Gan Eden and Gehenna. This means everyone deserves both reward and rehabilitation opportunities. However, the sins of the righteous differ qualitatively from those of the wicked - the righteous sin from momentary weakness while the wicked sin from rebellion. Similarly, their mitzvos differ in motivation and quality. If everyone were judged only in the World to Come, God would need to create different levels of Gehenna and Gan Eden to accommodate these qualitative differences. Instead, God punishes the righteous in this world so they never need Gehenna, allowing Him to create an appropriate rehabilitation facility for the wicked. Similarly, He rewards the wicked here so they don't corrupt Gan Eden, preserving it as the perfect reward for the righteous. The phrase 'ein b'yadeinu' means: 'it's not in our hands, but if it were, we would do it differently.' This isn't arrogance but love. God sacrifices His obvious presence in the world (creating an apparent Olam HaSheker) for our ultimate benefit. From our perspective of loving God, we say we would prefer He maintain His obvious presence even if it meant less reward for us. This teaches that in every loving relationship, each party should prefer the other's benefit over their own. The parent gives up for the child, but the child should wish they could give the parent more instead. This Mishna reveals the dynamics of divine love - God chooses what benefits us even at the cost of His manifest presence, while we, loving Him, wish we could choose what benefits Him instead.
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Pirkei Avos 4:14
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Why does Avos 4:17 prioritize teshuvah over Torah and mitzvos as life's primary purpose? The shiur reveals that teshuvah fundamentally means our innate drive to return to God, not just fixing past sins. Since teshuvah was created before the world itself, it represents humanity's core spiritual programming for growth and divine connection.
