Welcome back to NachDaily with Iyov, chapter 3.

In the first 2 perakim, which are really like a prologue to the sefer, we now set the stage for the rest of it. There are really two parts to this perek. First, Iyov curses the day he was born. Second, he questions the gift of life altogether.

In Iyov ‘s mind, he’s completely innocent. He’s checked himself and found no sins or reason why he should be punished. On the other hand, he believes that God is good and would not cause a person to suffer for no reason. Iyov is trying to make sense of his experience and understand why he’s going through so much pain, distress, and hardship.

Like many of us who suffer, he wanted to understand why Hashem causes us to be in pain.

Remember that Iyov had no clue about Hashem’s conversation with the Satan. Iyov was just living his life when things turned sour, and we see a change in his attitude.

The perek opens with Iyov calling out “Yovad yom ivaled bo, v’halayla amar horah gaver – Let the day on which I was born perish. And also the night on which it was announced, ‘A male has been conceived.’” – Iyov curses the day he was born quite literally. The Metsudos adds that he asks God to completely wipe out the light of the day he was born, turning it into night.

What’s the reference to cursing the night he was conceived? Everyone knows that the moment of birth is in contrast to the moment of conception, which not only happens at night, but is hidden from the naked eye.

Iyov denies Hashem’s hashgacha pratis, Divine providence, but still believes in Him.

Verse 3 says, “Al yid’rasheihu Eloha mima’al – May God not seek it out from above.”

Rav Shwab explains that Iyov is trying to reconcile God with undeserved suffering. He believes that God is good, but has left the world up to the rule of Mazalos and to its own means. Iyov believes that his suffering was not inflicted upon him by God, but since the world is not under direct hashgacha pratis, he is allowed to suffer. Amazingly, we see that Iyov would rather believe this than deny God entirely. Iyov’s strong faith in Divine justice leads him to deny hashgacha pratis.

In the second half of the perek Iyov questions the gift of life. He wonders why he was born at all. Does it really make a difference? All things in this world eventually die and atrophy.

In passuk 15 Iyov says, “O chineifel tamun lo eh’yeh, k’ol’lim lo ra’oo ohr – Or, why was I not like an aborted fetus that was buried like babies who never saw the light?”

The Ramban explains that Iyov is not taking the next world into consideration. What’s the difference between a baby that was aborted and a king who lives a life of luxury? At the end of the day, they both die. There’s no qualitative difference between someone who lived many years and a stillborn.

Iyov wonders about the existential questions of life. What is the purpose of this world if it begins and ends with suffering? Life is full of pain. Why would God bring a person into this world just to experience pain? Perhaps non-existence is better than existence. Iyov understands God’s relationship to this world to be like that of a clock maker, who winds the clock up and lets it run on its own.

Rebbe Nosson of Breslov used to say, “Olam Habah, that I don’t know about. No one’s ever seen it. But Gehinom, that I definitely do know about. That’s this world!

Passuk 25 has Iyov telling his friends, “I had no calm, I had no quiet, I had no rest – and torment came.”

Stay tuned to the next episode of NachDaily when we’ll see Eliphaz’s first response to Iyov’s grief.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.