The Hovot HaLevavot is wrapping up the topic of things we don’t understand. He gave us 5 possible reasons that righteous people suffer, and we have discussed 5 of the 6 reasons he gives for why wicked people prosper.
The final reason (#6) that the Hovot HaLevavot gives for why the wicked prosper is:
ויש שתהיה לנסות אנשי התרמית והמצפונים הרעים
It’s there to test people. We don’t know what’s in a person’s heart. G-d wants to test us.
כשהם רואים זה ממהרים לסור מעבודת הבורא
If we see the wicked people prosper, we may wonder why we are being sold the whole Bitachon/Emunah, Connect to Hashem package. We might think those wicked people who don’t follow the rules, and have no Emunah and Bitachon, are living the good life. We might decide to follow along as well. We might think the wicked people seem to know how to make money and be successful. And we might decide to follow them. That’s the test. And the people that don’t fall prey to this are sometimes left out of the track, not invited to the social scene, and may not seem as successful as the wicked people are. Those people will be rewarded.
Hovot HaLevavot brings Eliyahu Hanavi and King Ahav and his wife as an example of how G-d sets up these tests. Ahav and his wife were the problem, but at the time, they told Eliyahu he was the problem. Their “team” of idol worshipers had thousands of backers. Eliyahu had only a handful. They had a showdown. People rooted not for Eliyahu, but for the wicked. That’s how the world is.
The further hiddush, which is scary, is that there are people out there working for the Devil. We have heard stories of people selling their souls to the devil, but this is actually a true concept. People who are successful are used as poster-boys for the evil side. Just like we said that the righteous man that suffers may be a role model for G-d’s team, for us to see how to handle difficulty and challenge, and he can be the poster-boy for Emunah and Bitachon, the Yetzer Hara also has an advertising team. This is an important principle.
Rav Dessler wonders why evil looks so good. Un-kosher steak just seems to sizzle more. Forbidden waters are sweet. It just looks better. Why?
Why does it look like the people doing the wrong things are really enjoying this world so much? Why does it look so good?
Rav Dessler, using sources, explains with the following mashal:
Two salesmen are hired by a company. One has a great product. He sells Gucci bags. The leather is soft and the design is beautiful. His friend has to sell knock-off bags. These phony Gucci bags are of lower quality and inferior style. This salesman complains that’s it’s not fair- his bags are harder to sell. The boss says, “Don’t worry, you’ll have better advertising for yours. You’ll have a better showcase and a nicer box.” The product is worse but it will have more advertising.
The nimshal is in that this world, we have the real goods. Religion, Torah, Mizvot: Those are real. Taste the Torah and see it’s delicious. Do hessed and see how good you’ll feel. Learn with a havruta- you’ll see it’s great, you’ll feel it. The Torah doesn’t need to sizzle and glitter. Not all that glitters is gold.
The Yetzer Hara has the ability to make everything sizzle and glitter. He has hired workers that look like they’re doing great. It looks like they’re living the life of Riley-illegally. But they’re on the other either team. That’s why we see wicked prosper- It’s all part of the test. Don’t deceive yourself. Appreciate what’s real.