The Gemara on Amud Aleph tells us that the Persians who rebuilt the Temple would eventually suffer a demise. They question why it should be fair, that those who did the good deed of rebuilding the Temple should suffer a destruction. The Gemara Offers two answers:
- Such is the decree from G-d, seeming to say that some things in the world are a mystery and we cannot question them.
- Or indeed, the Persians also destroyed synagogues and so therefore we’re not completely clean and suffer the consequences.
It would seem in these two answers are the two approaches that one must take in general to worldly matters that do not seem particularly fair. Sometimes, upon closer inspection, it emerges what ultimately is the justification. However, other times G-d‘s plan and motives remain mysterious and unknown .
Along the lines of mysterious and unknown. There is a fascinating Ben Ish Chai (Benayahu) over here that remarks as follows:
The modern-day Persians are not idolaters, and therefore should not suffer the same fate as the Persians predicted in this section of the Talmud. He then goes on to comment that many of the predictions about the end of days in Messianic times seem to have changed over the length of the exile. This is remarkable, as he is all but saying the literal predictions are not necessarily binding. Or at least, as time goes on, additional outcomes may emerge. This is surprising, what is his source for this?
Perhaps it is the following idea put forth by Rambam (Laws of Kings 12:2)
Some of the Sages say that Elijah will come before the coming of the Messiah. But regarding all these matters and similar, no one knows how it will be until it will be. For these matters were unclear to the Prophets. Even the Sages themselves did not have a Tradition regarding these matters and only could attempt to understand the verses. Thus, there were disagreements in these matters. Nevertheless, neither the order that these events will occur nor their details are fundamental to the religion.
Perhaps the common denominator in all this is that we cannot really understand nor predict G-d’s plan for the world.
Previous
