איכה, פרק ג׳, פסוק ל״ה

When facing profound suffering and the agony of exile, it is natural for a person to question whether the world has been left to arbitrary chance. One might wonder if destructive forces have been unleashed to act without restraint, punishing humanity far beyond what is deserved. Yet, God’s oversight of the world is defined by absolute fairness. There is no room for random tragedy or a perversion of justice. The primary approach among commentators is that God does not desire wrongdoing, nor does He allow wars or disasters to unfold without His knowledge. Instead, every event is directed by His precise command [צאינה וראינה]. When a person stands in judgment before God [ביאור שטיינזלץ], the outcome never deviates from what is right [אבן עזרא].

A logical deduction reinforces this truth. God makes His presence known in human courts specifically to ensure that mortal judges do not corrupt the legal process. If He carefully guards human justice, it is impossible to imagine that God Himself would allow justice to be distorted. He would never permit destructive forces to inflict more pain than a person truly owes. Every hardship is carefully measured and directly tied to a person’s actions [אלשיך].

Conversely, another perspective views the bending of justice not as a risk of unfair punishment, but as a profound act of kindness. If God were to judge humanity with absolute, unyielding precision, weighing every good deed against every sin, no one could survive. However, because judgment takes place directly before God, His infinite greatness changes the dynamic. He has no need or desire to take revenge on a small, fragile human being, so He naturally tilts the scales toward forgiveness. When judgment remains in His hands, rather than being delegated to angels or prosecuting forces who demand strict justice, the entire process becomes filled with complete mercy [אלון בכות].