What is the place of IYOV [BOOK OF JOB] in Judaism?

By Shlomoh Sherman
April 29, 2021 · Euclid, OH


On QUORA: What is the place of IYOV [BOOK OF JOB] in Judaism? - Answered 11:34 am 4-29-21


Job is a nonJew; not only that; he is a descendant of Esau, the sworn enemy of the Jewish People. The largess of Judaism is that it places the tale of Israel's gentile enemies in its scriptures. The fact is that Job is a righteous man regardless of his tribe.

The major idea is that one cannot depend on his righteousness to fend off the personal tragedy in one's life. Secondarily, and perhaps more important, the book of Job puts forth the strong message that one's personal tragedy does not imply that one sinned and deserved the tragedy as God's punishment.

Job's friends offer him the sad consolation that he must have offended God and deserved this punishment. Yet Job's constant insistence of his innocence and worship of God AND his suffering are unfair. His theme is that he is right and God is wrong to impose suffering upon him.

In the end, God Himself speaks out of the tornado, admonishing the friends, declaring that Job is right; his suffering is a result of God's bad wager with Satan to prove Job's righteousness.

Today, as in the past, many people are ready to assume that people get what they deserve. A look at history shows that this idea is not correct.

Our major wars and the Holocaust have led to the death and suffering of innocent people, many of them children. Yet the idea that tragedy is a result of sin persists.

Consider the following story:

John 9 : NIV. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

In my own personal life, I contracted the dreaded COVID. Yet I came through unscathed while 9 Catholic nuns died from the virus. Am I more righteous than they were. I doubt it.

The book of Job ought to be read on a regular basis and studied in order to bring humility into our lives. This is a great question.


Return To The Essay Index   Return To The Literary Index   Return To The Site Index Page   Email Shlomoh