If G-d is good, where is the bad coming from?
The Zohar, the chief work of Kabbalah, presents an intriguing perspective. It claims that the Torah could have been given to the world during the time of Noah, but the people of his time weren’t ready. These were the same people who violated G-d’s will by their violence and selfishness, leading to the great flood that only Noah and those aboard his ark survived.
Kabbalah offers a unique interpretation: it equates the Torah with the life-giving force of water and suggests that because the people were incapable of receiving it, the water of the Torah turned into a flood.
From this, we learn a fundamental principle in Judaism: bad does not come from G-d. G-d only sends good, but when we are not receptive to the good, it turns into bad.
Here’s a helpful analogy: Imagine a bat on your shoulder. You and the bat are both looking at a light. While you see light, the bat, unable to handle the light, perceives it as darkness. If the brightness intensifies, you see more light, but the bat sees more darkness.
Similarly, G-d only sends us good. When we are not prepared to receive it, it appears as bad. The Baal Shem Tov, the 18th-century founder of the Chassidic Movement, pointed out that a curse is actually a blessing we are not ready to receive.
G-d is always sending us His good. When we resist or are incapable of receiving it, the good appears as bad. But the more we open our hearts and minds to faith in G-d’s goodness, the more His goodness will flow to us as blessings in every way.
In Jewish blessings, “Baruch Atah” means “Blessed Are You,” indicating that G-d is the source of blessing. Blessing signifies bounty, abundance, wealth, and everything good.
While life’s challenges may sometimes feel burdensome, everything G-d does is always and only in our best interest. G-d never sends us bad; He only and always sends us blessings.
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