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How can Hashem (ה׳) maintain perfect justice while also exercising pure mercy? The Ramchal's framework shows that divine justice is self-imposed and can be overridden when divine wisdom deems appropriate, like Hashem creating a tunnel for King Menashe's rejected repentance. This explains how spiritual connection determines whether we live in a world where righteousness prevails or anxiety dominates.
Rabbi Zweig begins this Derech HaShem (ה׳) shiur by establishing that while Hashem rules with perfect justice ("shevet mishor"), this justice system is actually self-imposed by God and can be overridden when divine wisdom deems it appropriate. He explains that God's punishment system originates from love, like a parent disciplining a child for their ultimate benefit, not from vengeance or cruelty. The Rav emphasizes two crucial corollaries of this principle: first, that punishment is naturally alleviated because God's love tempers His judgment with mercy, and second, that God can completely suspend the rules of justice and operate with pure mercy alone. This is exemplified in the pasuk "I will have mercy upon whom I shall have mercy," recited during the Yamim Noraim. He illustrates this concept with the Gemara (גמרא)'s account of King Menashe, whose repentance was initially rejected by the heavenly court, prompting Hashem to create a direct tunnel bypassing the system of justice.
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Derech HaShem Part 2, Chapter 3, pages 169-175
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