Our Gemara on amud aleph discusses some of Iyov’s complaints and confusion regarding his seemingly undeserved suffering and calamities:

“The earth is given into the hand of the wicked, he covers the faces of its judges; if not he, then who is it?” (Job 9:24). Rava says: Job sought to turn the bowl upside down, that is to say, he alluded here to a heretical thought, as he said that the earth is given into the hand of the wicked, indicating a lack of providence.”

The G”ra (Maor Hagadol quoted by Sefer Daf al Daf) explains Iyov’s intentions in a more positive light by way of a parable:

There once was a king who was known to have a tyrannical temper, ordering the deaths of loyal servants who made even the most minor mistakes. One time his loyal Butler, spilled a small drop of soup on his lap while serving him. Immediately, the Butler turned the entire bowl upside down onto the king's lap. Predictably, in a rage, the king ordered his execution. However, the king's curiosity got the better of him. He had to meet with the Butler one last time and ask him to explain his uncharacteristically insolent behavior. The king asked him, “I can understand that you might have accidentally spilled a small drop on me, but why did you then proceed to overturn the entire bowl?“ The Butler answered, “Your Majesty, I did this for your honor. Your temper is well known, and therefore, I realized that I would be executed even for that small drop. If I allowed that to happen, it would reflect poorly on the king, as most people would have sympathy for my case, and regard the king as irrational and cruel. In order to protect his majesty, I decided to spill the entire bowl on you so that my execution would be justified.” Upon realizing the wisdom and loyalty of this butler, the king relented and overturned his conviction.

So too, the Gr”a suggests that Iyov could find no justification for the injustices that he experienced. He saw this as a desecration of God’s name, and therefore figured that he must intensify his transgression in order that people would not doubt God’s integrity.

The Gr”a was not one to say trivial vertlach, so while this is very clever, what does it actually mean theologically? After all, is God a tyrannical impulsive king that requires Job to cover for Him? Does He really need any favors from Iyov?

I believe that the Gr”a was hinting at a deeper idea. What the Gemara meant to say is that Iyov was a man of deep belief and conviction. He could not wrap his head around the injustice that he experienced, and he believed somehow, despite his strong belief in his innocence, there must be some answer and some vindication for God. But Iyov could not mince words – too much was at stake. For the honor of God, the truth must come out. In other words, the Gemara is saying that true, it is problematic that Iyov raised questions that indicated heretical thought, ideas like perhaps, “God does not know what’s going on in this world.“ Or, “God has no interest in finding out about his creations once he created them.“ Yet, the reason that Iyov raised these questions and struggled with even heretical ideas and solutions is because he believed in God, and ultimately wanted to have a relationship with God, even though he did not understand yet how to work out what was happening to him and what it meant.

This is an important distinction when it comes to questions of faith. There are questions that come from cynicism and a wish to disprove religion to justify one’s own freedom from moral obligations and guilt. However, there also are legitimate questions that one must ask and need to explore (perhaps with discretion to trusted advisors) in order to have an authentic relationship with God. 

The Gemara is filled with hundreds of pages of mind-boggling contradictions and challenges raised by later generations of sages regarding prior teachings. All of these questions are not regarded as heretical, even though some of them are left unresolved. Why is that? The answer is, there is a tacit understanding that there is a belief that there must be an answer, even if an answer has not yet been found. As the Yiddish saying goes, “No one dies from a question.”

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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