Your Title Here

Righteous men may find hardship in earning a living

...why the opportunity to obtain his livelihood without trouble and trial might be withheld from a righteous man.

It man be the consequence of a previously committed sin, for which he is now paying the penalty, as it says, "Even the righteous get their deserts on earth" (Mishlei 11:31).

Sometimes it is in accordance with [the principle of] compensation in the World-to-Come, as it is written: "To do you good at your latter end" (Devarim 8:16).

Sometimes it is to demonstrate his patience and positive outlook in the service of the Creator, may He be exalted, so that other people might learn from him, as is known to you from the case of Iyov.

At times it is because of the wickedness of a good man's contemporaries that the Creator, May He be exalted, tries the good man with poverty, want, and sickness, in order to exhibit his piety and devotion in the service of God, in contrast to their conduct.  As it says, "But it was our sickness that he bore, our pain that he suffered" (Yeshayahu 53:4)

Sometimes it is because of his failure to demonstrate zeal for God's cause and exact punishment from his contemporaries, as you know from the account of Eli and his sons, of who Scripture says: "And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow low to him fro a bit of money and a loaf of bread" (Shemuel I, 2:36).

Why might God bestow favor upon a wicked man?

As to God's favor bestowed on a wicked man - this sometimes happens on account of a previous good deed, for which God rewards him in this world, as it says: "He repays His enemies to their face to destroy them" (Devarim 7:10), which the Early Ones rendered in the Targum (translation) as follows: "He repays His enemies during their lifetime [for] the good that they have done before Him, [so as ultimately] to destroy them."

Sometimes wealth is placed in his charge like a deposit, until God, may He be exalted, gives him a righteous son who is worthy of it, as it says: "He prepares it, but the righteous man will wear it" (Iyov 27:17); "But to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and amassing, to hand over to one who is good before God" (Koheles 2:26)

His wealth may also prove to be the primary cause of his death or undoing, as it says: "There is an evil affliction that I have observed under the sun: wealth reserved for its owner, for his misfortune" (ibid. 5:12).

It may be that the Creator , May He be exalted, patiently bears with him until he repents and becomes worthy of his good fortune, as was the case with Menashe.

Sometimes it is on account of the past piety of his father, in return for which it was proper to bestow benefits on the son, as was said to Yehu, son of Nimshi: "For generations of your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel" (Melachim II, 10:30); and it says: "He who walks in integrity is a saint; blessed are his children after him!" (Mishlei 20:7); "I have been young and now am grown old, but I have never seen a righteous man forsaken, or his children begging bread" (Tehillim 37:25).

Sometimes it is in order to try those who are deceptive and inwardly evil, who, when they observe [the prosperity of the wicked], hurry to turn away from the service of God and hasten to win the favor of the wicked and to learn from their actions.  So too, the man who is pure toward God is identified and the man loyal in his service is recognized through his forbearance at a time when the wicked ruled over him and humiliate him.  For this he will receive reward from the Creator, May He be exalted, as you know from the account of Eliyahu and Izevel, and the account of Yirmeyahu and the kings of his time.

ORIGIN: Duties of the Heart by R. Bachya ben Joseph ibn Paquda, Trust in God - Ch. 3, pg. 389