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Reading Room ViewPoint The Justice of G-d The following ViewPoint was intended to provoke thought and discussion. Shall
not the Judge of all the World do judgement? Abraham's plea to G-d to save the city of Sodom lest the good be destroyed with the wicked is an illustration of our belief in G-d as a true and righteous Judge. He judges each man according to his deeds, by rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked. But the Bible makes it clear that the purpose of punishment is to give man the chance to repent and start his life anew. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezekiel 33:11). The quality of G-d's mercy with which His justice is associated consoles us in time of sorrow and distress when we accept His decision without question.1 Noticing that Genesis, chapter 1, has elokim for G-d, not the Ineffable Name, while in chapter 2 both the Ineffable Name (Hashem [literally, the Name] the Tetragrammaton or Shem HaMeforesh) and elokim occur, the rabbis remarked that in creating our world, G-d first intended to rule it according to the principle of strict justice (middath ha-din), but He realized that the world could not thus endure, so He associated mercy (middath he-rachamim) with justice and made them to rule jointly. Elokim signifies strict justice; the Ineffable Name Hashem stands for mercy. It is maintained that when G-d acts according to mercy, the Ineffable Name Hashem is used, while elokim is used to signify His acting according to strict justice. Mercy has precedence over justice. Both justice and mercy as the main attributes of G-d's relation to man afford an insight into the polarity of G-d's dominion. Justice is a standard, mercy an attitude; justice is detachment, mercy attachment; justice is objective, mercy personal. G-d transcends both justice and mercy.2 G-d rules the world by justice and compassion, or love. These two ways are not divergent, but rather complementary, for it is out of compassion that justice is administered. But again and again His compassion, or love, is manifested in the world. Cain, slaying his brother, does not receive the punishment he deserves. Though justice would require that Abel's blood be avenged, Cain is granted divine pardon and protection.3 But let this be said: a close study of the words of Scripture leads us to the following: G-d only tempered Strict Justice with mercy for the weak who inhabit the earth. In heaven above, the Divine Attributes of Strict Justice prevails when G-d deals with the celestial forces and the ministering angels. True, these celestial beings are not subject to seduction by an Evil Impulse. Yet they are given to error because they sometimes deviate slightly from the precise Divine Truth they are expected to follow. Thus what the Attribute of Mercy accomplishes is this: Instead of administering punishment instantly, G-d waits. Instead of administering the powerful punishment all at once, G-d divides the pain into small parts and deals out the suffering little by little. But in the end the demands of the Attribute of Strict Justice are completely fulfilled. Justice is executed precisely and completely, albeit in a gentle manner. G-d pursues even the best of men with His Attribute of Strict Justice and this accomplishes two things. First, suffering, which is administered according to Strict Justice, atones for every sin and purifies the soul. Second, when the righteous feel the sting of Strict Justice, they are filled with additional fear and awe of G-d, and they become even more careful not to sin. When others see that even the righteous are taken to task for minor flaws, they become filled with dread over their own sins which are greater. Indeed, it is an essential principle that the righteous must always be ruled by Strict Justice. When the time came to create man, G-d spoke in the plural: "Let us make man." All of the Divine Attributes joined to make man, i.e., the Divine Attributes of Strict Justice and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. Man had to be created in this manner because he was created in God's image. Thus, just as G-d has two types of Attributes, man had to be created and endowed with both types of Attributes.4
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