Commentaire de citation sur Les Psaumes 73:4

Likewise, God will not alter Universal Governance in order to punish a wicked person whose destiny ordains that he be rich and successful, and sound in limb (Psalms 73:4). Rather, He will leave the world to its Nature, as it was said: The world goes on in its own way but the fools who sin will be brought to justice (Avodah Zarah 54b). The wicked person will be punished in the future, in the eternal world, as he explained in his second speech. And so there is no problem as to why he prospers in this world: his stars are the reason. And yet, he will wither quicker than any other plant (Job 8:12) as in the analogy with the rushes and reed-grass. And God will then compound his punishment in proportion to the measure of the good he had enjoyed and according to his wickedness.

But this is all wrong, for God is neither impressed by man’s deeds nor has He any need for his work; nor does his rebelliousness bring about any change in Him. He is like a doctor who prescribes treatment for a patient. Whether the patient listens to what the doctor says or refuses to do so, the reward or punishment is inherent in the very act upon which his health and life, or his sickness and death, depend.¹³This was the solution put forward by Hasdai Crescas, the 14th century philosopher, theologian and statesman. Hasdai was a severe critic of Maimonides, and his major work Or Adonai is a critique of the Guide of the Perplexed. Hasdai's resolution saves God's omniscience by limiting human freedom and the justice of reward and punishment by asserting that it is inherent in the way things are. Just as death follows from the swallowing of poison, so suffering ensues from wrongdoing. Whether Malbim was familiar with Hasdai's writings at first hand is uncertain. This is the way in which the reward and punishment for human acts is linked with the acts themselves. A man who controls his appetites and instincts will enjoy good health (Psalms 73:4), whereas he who pursues the pleasures of the flesh will become sick and be sorely chastised (Job 33:19).
Similarly, a commonwealth which endeavors to act properly and humanely, to do justice to the oppressed and to remove evil-doers from the land, will enjoy quiet and security free of any evil threat (1Kings 5:18) or destroyer. But when right and justice are usurped in the state (Ecclesiastes 5:7) murderers and gangsters multiply.

And the explanation of the matter is: As I have explained above in Parshat Tazria, that leprosy comes because of certain sins, and the name of the affliction is tzara’at and the name of the afflicted person is metzora, because the term metzora means “brings out evil” [motzi ra], as they bring all their hidden evil from within to the outside, exposing their wickedness in public. And the name tzara’at is related to the expression tzarah ra’ah [evil distress], meaning an evil that is like a distress, as our Sages said (Chagigah 5), And many evils and distresses shall befall them — distresses that are like distresses to each other, like a hornet and a scorpion. For just as this wound [of both together] has no remedy through natural means, so this leprosy has no remedy through natural means, to inform them that it is the hand of God that has done this. And Naaman’s leprosy proves this, as the wise physicians were unable to find a remedy for him. Therefore, the sinner must necessarily turn their heart away from their evil path, and nega [affliction] refers to the sin that touches [noge’a] the honor of Heaven, as it were, or the honor of people. And the leprosy forces them, against their will and not for their pleasure, to be brought to the priest to seek healing from him and to learn moral instruction. For if they had initially gone willingly to seek Torah from the priest’s lips and to be among the disciples of Aaron, who loved peace and pursued peace, and not to send strife between brothers with the whip of their tongue, then they would not have come to this leprosy. And since they did not do this willingly when they were healthy and strong (Psalms 73:4), now they shall be brought to the priest against their will to seek from them the path of repentance.