The profound divine purpose behind human suffering and the journey of the soul is rooted in supreme kindness rather than punishment. God orchestrates events not to penalize, but to rescue a person from total loss and destruction. His ultimate goal is to save the soul from the grave and allow it to be illuminated by the light of life.
Commentators offer different perspectives on the exact nature of this light. One view suggests it refers to the simple continuation of physical life on earth [רמב״ן]. However, the primary approach understands this as a reference to spiritual existence. In this view, the soul is illuminated by the eternal light of the World to Come and remains closely bound to God [מצודת דוד, רמב״ן]. This dynamic serves as the key to understanding why righteous individuals experience hardship. The pain they endure is not an act of injustice, but a protective divine kindness designed to prevent them from losing their eternal reward due to their earthly mistakes. This provides such a decisive and complete answer to the problem of human suffering that it removes all doubt, which is why Job ultimately chose to remain silent rather than argue further [רמב״ן].
On a deeper level, this process explains the mystery of reincarnation and its distinct advantage over spiritual purification in the afterlife. A question naturally arises: why would God choose to send a soul back to this world again, rather than allowing it to be cleansed of its sins through the suffering of Hell before moving on to the resurrection of the dead?
The answer lies in the fundamental difference between removing a flaw and actively creating light. Spiritual purification in the afterlife acts like medicine for a blind person; it successfully washes away the stains and dirt of sin, but it cannot grant the soul any new illumination. In contrast, when a soul returns to this physical world, it is given a fresh opportunity to gather the light of positive merits through its own actions. As a result, when the soul eventually returns to the upper world, it is not merely clean. It brings its own earned light to shine brightly within the divine light. This cycle of returning continues until the soul accumulates enough merit to fully illuminate its path, bringing its journey to a complete close [אלשיך].