Perfection and training – between good and very good

שו”ת › Category: faith › Perfection and training – between good and very good

asked 1 year ago

Hello Rabbi,
Regarding the question of “Why is there evil in the world” and the answer that the goal is for there to be a choice, and subsequently, Rabbi Kook’s answer about perfection and completion. We realize in creation the ability to choose goodness and complete what it supposedly cannot reveal because it is complete.
My question about this is, why didn’t He create a world in which there would be a choice and education between good and very good. For example, we would have a choice whether to strive to build a beautiful house, learn more, repay kindness to one another, but there would be no choice to murder, rape, there would be no hunger in the world and disease, etc., things that are really bad.
Ostensibly, we can imagine a world where there is also the advantage of choice and education without evil. And this is also what I would expect to see in a world created by someone who is good and wants to do good.

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מיכי Staff answered 1 year ago

I don’t think I can give a satisfactory answer to that. It is clear that there must be a choice, and it seems that if it were only between good and better it would not achieve its purpose. We are supposed to create good versus evil and not play with zeros. Those who are good and want to do good want more things from this world than doing good. And those goals force there to be evil as well. As for where the line should be crossed below which we should not be given a choice, I don’t know the answer. But that’s a question, not a dilemma. I’m also not sure there is a clear definition of the boundary between good and evil, so choosing between good and better can always be considered a choice between good and evil.

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אבי replied 1 year ago

I do not agree that progressing from good to very good is “playing with zero water”. After all, the gap between us humans and God is infinite, and this is also our potential for progress. It is unlikely that our progress beyond avoiding evil acts such as murder and rape is negligible. In my opinion, most of the commandments are in this range of good and very good (putting on tefillin, waving the lulav, etc., the commandments that are between man and place).

In my opinion, the argument of the need for choice and progress is central to the existence of evil in the world, so if this argument fails, we return to this question and from there also to our basic assumption that the Creator of the world is good.

מיכי Staff replied 1 year ago

I don't see why the argument fell through? Because you decided that these elections are not important? God decided otherwise.
How many times such elections are needed is really not a relevant measure.
We must urgently settle the issue of what we say. We must urgently make it difficult not to say it.