(~) God’s Justice

A Jewish Legend

Else Schubert-Christaller

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi was a just man, without fault. So when he prayed that he might see the prophet Elijah, God granted his request. Seeing the prophet appear before him, the rabbi spoke: “Allow me to accompany you on your wanderings, to see what it is you do for God’s cause. For my heart longs to see God’s justice and to rejoice in it.”

“Rid yourself of your longing, for you will neither grasp what I do nor be able to bear it,” Elijah answered him.

But Rabbi Joshua replied, “Do I not know God’s justice, and can I not recognize his workings?” And he begged until the prophet permitted him to follow, but warned, “Take care not to question why I do as I do, for the moment you ask, your wandering with me will end.”

So they went, and wandered the bright, green earth, back and forth the whole day. At evening, they approached a small hut, from which a poor peasant emerged. He hurried to meet the two wanderers and invite them into his dwelling. Once inside, he bid them sit down while he fetched water so they could wash. His wife wasted no time in setting before the wanderers fresh milk, bread, and fruit, and with her husband honored their guests.

When the prophet and the rabbi wished to sleep, the man spread out his own blankets for them, then lay down beside his wife on the cold, bare dirt of the hut’s floor. Rabbi Joshua’s heart was glad at the hospitality of the poor man, and he thought, Elijah will surely reward him through God’s justice, so that he will no longer have to spend his life in poverty.

But when morning came, Elijah got up and killed the cow, the poor man’s sole possession. Rabbi Joshua stared in shock at the prophet, who only looked past him with stern eyes, so that the rabbi did not dare say a word in question. The two went on, leaving the poor peasants to lament their loss.

The prophet and the rabbi passed the day wandering the length and breadth of the bright, green earth. As the sun dipped low, they entered the gates of a large, beautiful house and approached the owner to ask if they might rest under his roof. “Why should I bother with you beggars?” he scoffed. “You can sleep in the stable.”

They settled down beside the animals, their hunger unsatisfied, their dusty feet unwashed. Anger stirred in Rabbi Joshua’s heart, and he thought, Elijah will not let this hardhearted man go unpunished by God’s justice.

But Elijah awoke at dawn and went into the stable yard, where a dilapidated wall leaned precariously. The prophet straightened the stones so that the wall stood firm again, with no threat of collapse. Watching, Rabbi Joshua thought, He afflicts the good and shows favor to those whose deeds are evil. How am I to understand it? Is this justice? But seeing the prophet’s dark look, he suppressed his bitter questions, and the two went away from the grand house and passed another day wandering here and there over the bright, green earth.

At day’s end, they entered a bustling city and made their way to its synagogue. There, the well-heeled men of the city sat, dressed in their finest clothes and seated in order of rank. When the time of prayer had ended, the men turned to one another and asked, “Who should take in the two wanderers?” None wanted to invite them into his house. “Let them stay the night in the synagogue,” they all agreed, and the matter was settled.

So the prophet and the rabbi, unfed and unwashed, spent the night in the synagogue. When the men returned to pray the next morning, Elijah took leave of them, parting with the wish, “May you all become city officials.” At this Rabbi Joshua could feel his heart fail within him, and he covered his face with his cloak, despairing over God’s justice. Yet he did not question the prophet.

Again they wandered the whole day over the bright, green earth. When it was evening, they came to a home where a kindly man welcomed them in. He brought water for them to wash themselves, and served them food until both the prophet and the rabbi had eaten their fill. Then the man showed his guests the cradle where his infant son lay asleep, and Rabbi Joshua marveled at the child’s beauty.

The host prepared beds for the two wanderers, and wished them a good night. But Rabbi Joshua did not sleep. Fear and sadness kept him awake the whole night, and he did not know how to still the clamor of his conscience. At daybreak, Elijah rose and killed the child in his cradle. And the prophet, with the rabbi at his heels, left the house, the father’s piercing cries for his only son echoing after them.

Now Rabbi Joshua tore his garments and called out, “I tremble before you! Is this God’s justice, that the devout suffer pain, while the evil receive love? If so, woe is me, for my heart has lost God, whom it served.” Elijah towered over him. There was power in his voice as he rebuked the rabbi: “You worm! Why do you babble about God’s justice with your earthly tongue? Did I not tell you that you would not be able to bear what I do?”

But Rabbi Joshua flung himself down on his knees and beat his head against the earth and cried out, “Tell me why you have done all this, or I shall die!”

Elijah replied, “You, a righteous one without fault! And you have no greater trust in God?”

Despairing, Rabbi Joshua kissed the dust at Elijah’s feet. Then the prophet said, “Yes, now I will explain everything to you. The poor man whose cow I killed was guilty of some sin. But because of his godliness, God did not want to afflict him or his wife for it. Instead, he took the cow as atonement. The man whose wall I straightened – beneath its stones a treasure lay hidden and, had he made the repairs himself, he would have discovered it. This treasure would only have served to harden his heart more and increase his evil. I wished the arrogant men at the synagogue to become city officials, because a city with many officials will be a place of great quarreling and will go to ruin in conflict. Their own arrogance will punish them. And I killed the infant because his father, who loved him greatly, sought to secure for him power and riches and in this endeavor did not shrink from deceit and force. Now he will return to his former honesty.”

Then Elijah spoke to the rabbi for the last time: “Stand up, oh man! Our journey together is ended. What you have seen you will see wherever you may wander on the earth. But when you see wicked people living in lust and happiness while godly ones live in poverty and pain, let your trust in God be great and humble. Who are you, that you should have the impudence to know the ways of the All-wise One, or search the paths of the Incomprehensible? It is enough that you know what is required for your own righteousness. So be silent before God’s righteousness, which is far beyond your grasp.”

Elijah turned away from him and disappeared. But Rabbi Joshua lay still, praying to God.

This story was translated from a small volume published in 1929, Judische Legenden, as told by Else Schubert-Christaller.

Reprinted from http://www.bruderhof.com/, used with pernission