This is the impossible position He has put us in: The paradox of outrage.
We believe that at the core of reality there lies a G‑d who is essentially good and cares for each one according to his or her needs, guiding each one to the right path, punishing wickedness and rewarding goodness in fair and equal measure. And so, over and over we are outraged—because what we experience flies in the face of this entire belief.
Yet, if we ignore the existence of evil and suffering, finding some justification for G‑d, or simply hiding our heads in the sand—then for what purpose were we placed in such a world? To leave it as we found it?
This is the drama created by a G‑d entirely beyond any form of understanding—a drama powered by the agonizing tension of paradox.
They asked the Baal Shem Tov: "The Talmud tells us1 that for every thing G‑d forbade, He provided us something permissible of the same sort. He forbade us to eat blood and permitted the liver. He forbade milk and meat and permitted the cow's udder. If so, what did He permit that corresponds to the sin of heresy?"
The Baal Shem Tov replied: "Acts of kindness."2
Because when you see a person suffering, you don't say, "G‑d runs the universe. G‑d will take care. G‑d knows what is best." You do everything in your power to relieve that suffering as though there is no G‑d. You become a heretic in G‑d's name.
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