בְּי֤וֹם טוֹבָה֙ הֱיֵ֣ה בְט֔וֹב וּבְי֥וֹם רָעָ֖ה רְאֵ֑ה גַּ֣ם אֶת־זֶ֤ה לְעֻמַּת־זֶה֙ עָשָׂ֣ה הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים עַל־דִּבְרַ֗ת שֶׁלֹּ֨א יִמְצָ֧א הָֽאָדָ֛ם אַחֲרָ֖יו מְאֽוּמָה׃
Au jour du bonheur, sois content; et au jour du malheur, considère que Dieu a fait correspondre l’un à l’autre, de façon à ce que l’homme ne trouve pas à récriminer contre lui.
The Jewish Spiritual Heroes
Another time Elisha is said to have asked Rabbi Meir for his interpretation of the verse, “One against another God made them”. (Eccles. 7:14) Rabbi Meir said that whatever God created, He also created its opposite; He created high mountains and low hills; He created the seas and the rivers. Elisha then remarked, “Rabbi Akiba explained this verse otherwise. He said that God created just men and wicked men; He created a Paradise and a Gehenna. Every Jew may therefore choose between two shares, one in Paradise and one in Gehenna. If he is a just man he takes his own and his neighbor’s share in Paradise; if he is a wicked man he takes his own and his neighbor’s share in Gehenna.