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| JOB                                |
|(c) Dec 2002 RashiYomi Incorporated |
| Posting 6 of 25                    |
| Dec 2, 2002                        |
| In Memory of Abraham Hendel        |
| Translated by Dr Russell Hendel    |
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ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
----------------------
The Shivah for my father is over.
With this posting we have completed 25% of the book of Job
We have left 19 postings.
At the rate of one per week we will complete Job by Shavuoth.

I may at some point create an official email group on Shamash
or YAHOO. You will then get an email asking you to confirm.
The advantage of an email group is that we can store the archives
publicly and you can visit them at any time

Also I will eventually place Job on my Rashi website.


CHAPTERS 9,10
=============
Today we translate chapters 9,10 which
according to the outline contains
- ROUND 1
- DIALOG 2
- The rebuttal of Job to the 2nd attempted
solution to suffering by Bildad HaShuchi

We apply our 3 fold
approach(TOPIC,SUBTOPICS, WORDS)
to Chapters 9,10

We first present BOTH
- the one sentence solution to suffering of Eliphaz
- Jobs rebuttal of this attempt
- Bildads 2nd solution to suffering
- Jobs rebuttal of the 2nd solution

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ELIPHAZ:Suffering comes to teach & improve
JOB:SUFFERING improves;but PAIN prevents learning
BILDAD: Suffering comes from sin;Success from observance
JOB: But sudden national tragedies affect sinner & saint
--------------------------------------------------------

This chapter naturally has
4 subtopics as follows:

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MAIN SENTENCE:Sudden national tragedies affect sinner & saint
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Jb09-02:10 Bildad is right: God swiftly uproots the wicked
Jb09-11:31 But sudden punishment also destroys the righteous
Jb09-32:02 If God only gave me a respite I could prove my innocence
Jb10-03:22 My sufferings dont correspond to my sins;why punish
----------------------------------------------------------------

As usual the beginning of each section is marked by Hebrew keywords
which mark off the section.These keywords include: HAYN, AMNAM,
IM and HA.

Let us now examine the content of each section

Recall Bildad had explained to Job that God lets the wicked
enjoy themselves and then suddenly destroys them. Job acknowledges
this

--------------------- 1st Section ------------------------------
MAIN SENTENCE:Sudden national tragedies affect sinner & saint
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Jb09-02:10 Bildad is right: God swiftly uproots the wicked
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INDEED I know this is true
How could a wicked person be right against God
If the wicked wanted to argue with God
he would not even have one right claim in a 1000
- (Because God is) Wise and Strong
- ---------------- no one who was stubborn with God got away with it
- - (God indeed) uproots the mountainous superpowers in an instant
- - ------------ He overturns them with anger
- - ------------ God rattles nations
- - ------------ God undermines the national foundations
- - ------------ God prevents the rise in glory of a nation
- - ------------ God prevents the rise of national stars
- - ------------ God makes new vistas
- - ------------ God treads out a path on foreign waters
- - ------------ God makes tribal and simple cultures like southern
tribes
- - ------------ God indeed makes many unfathomable wonders
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COMMENT
-------
Note my continual use of anthropomorphisms. The translation of
physical phenomena as applying to personality types enriches
the reading of Job

Next we approach Jobs rebuttal. True God uproots the wicked
but he uproots the righteous at the same time. There is
no difference between wicked and righteous in national tragedies
This refutes the attempt to see tragedies as punishments for sin

-------------------- 2nd Section -------------------------------
MAIN SENTENCE:Sudden national tragedies affect sinner & saint
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Jb09-11:31 But sudden punishment also destroys the righteous
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- INDEED if God overtakes me I dont have time to see
- ------------- passes over me I dont have time to understand
- INDEED if God snatches (my life) I dont have time to respond
- Who can tell why God does something(So they arent punishments)
- When God unleashes anger there is no turning back
- His anger (instantly) crushes even prosperous nations
- How much more so me: I dont have time to respond
- I dont have time to pick words (of repentance) with him
- Even if I was right--would I have time to answer Gods punishments
- ---------------------would I have time to supplicate to God
- -----If I called & He answered would I have time to listen
- With a mere hair I can slip and have many wounds
- I wouldnt have time to take a breath because of all the pain
- (Yes Bildad) Gods power is there but the WHY of punishment is not!
- Even if I was right-I would be so frightened to make myself wicked
- ------------- innocent-I would make myself look obstinate
- And indeed I am innocent
- ------ but I dont understand (the pains of my) soul
- ------ but I despise my own life
- Destruction is ONE: That is why I made my claims
- God destroys BOTH the righteous and wicked
- When a flood destroys(wicked) suddenly
- Then it also mocks at the innocent
- When a land is given over to wicked
- Then God destroys the judges (when he destroys it)
- If not: Why do these righteous judges die
- Indeed: My life is swifter than a runner
- ------- ------- runs without time to see good
- ------- my lifes swiftness competes with rapids-canoes
- ------- my lifes swiftness is like a vulture swooping on prey
- If I tried to forget my murmurings of pain
- ---------- to stop facing pain and rest a bit
- ---------- to gather my sobs
- Then I know you would not let me
- I would be found guilty
- so why should I try and forget my pain
- If I bathed my soul in snow
- If I cleansed my hands in well water
- Then you would immerse me in hell
- ---- my own skin would reject me
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COMMENT:
The translation above, RAPID-CANOES--is due to Rav Hirsch

------------------- 3rd Section --------------------------------
MAIN SENTENCE:Sudden national tragedies affect sinner & saint
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Jb09-32:02 If God only gave me a respite I could prove my innocence
----------------------------------------------------------------
A person in my pain cannot answer God
But I do want to go to trial with God
If only we had an arbiter between us
Someone who would put his hand on both of us
------- who would remove my constant floggings
and then Gods fear would not frighten me
(Then) I would speak without fear
For I am not myself now;
But then I would pull myself together
I would argue against my being alive
I would talk about leaving (the world)
I would argue about my pain
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In this section Job again states that he is righteous and
doesnt deserve these punishments. Hence he asks to die.


----------------- 4th Section ----------------------------------
MAIN SENTENCE:Sudden national tragedies affect sinner & saint
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jb10-03:22 My sufferings dont correspond to my sins;why punish
----------------------------------------------------------------
I would tell God: Stop making me look wicked
Why do you fight with me?
Is this good for you? That you make me lose my job?
--------------------- That you despise me?
--------------------- That you test me because Satan asked
- (Is this about sin?)
- God, Do you lust like humans?
- Do you seek like humans?
- Do you live like humans?
- Are your years like those of a person
--- That you seek my sins and look for inadvertencies
- You know I havent sinned
- -------- I am helpless
-
- (Job stated that pain was not for sin;he now asks to die)
-
- You were the one who created and formed me
- and now you surround me with devouring worms
- Please God: Remember that you made me like clay
- -------------------- that you return me to dust
- -------------------- that you churn me like milk
- -------------------- that you curdle me like cheese
- -------------------- that you gave me life and love
- -------------------- that your providence guards me
- And yet you seek these (Sin/iniquity)
- I know that this (my righteousness) is with you
-
- (It would be one thing) if the suffering prevented sin
- ----------------------- if you prevented iniquity
- if I was wicked--woe to me
- ------ Then I would be right--without contest
- ------ Then I would fill with embarassment & accept suffering
- ------ and the pain would grow on me
- ------ like a lion you would seek me
- ------ and you would jump on me
- ------ and suddenly punish me (So here sudden punishment is ok)
- ------ You would renew my witherings
- ------ you would increase your anger
- ------ you would send an army of pain with alternates
- (But I am not wicked and have not sinned so)
- Why did you create me
- Wouldnt it be better if I was dead and no one ever knew me
- Just as I wasnt before birth; I would be non-existent
- I would go straight from the womb to the grave
- Arent my remaining days few?
- Leave me alone (God)
- Get off me
- Give me a small breather
- before I irreversibly die in a land of darkness
- a death of shadows and darkness without order
- ------- that jumps like a sudden darkness
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Stay tuned next week for the 3rd attempt
to solve the problem of suffering.