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A. Questions about the way G-d runs His world have long been asked, even by our Prophets (see Jeremiah 12,1; Habakuk 1,4-13; and the Book of Job). Such problems also bothered the Sages of the Talmud, who asked: "Why are there evil people who prosper and righteous who suffer?"
And so, since they didn't always have answers, we need not be surprised that we, the "simple people," also don't have. Still, how do we go on believing in a just G-d? I will not even try to encompass the entire subject, but just to point out some main principles.
1. When we look at the world in general, and at the various situations of most individuals, let us ask: What is the bottom line? Are things mostly good, or mostly bad? Many people think, superficially, that they are mostly bad – but this is a terrible error. The reasons for this mistake are many, and the primary one is that we take for granted all the good we enjoy.
When we make our accounting, do we include our health, our food, and our clothing in the "good" column? Or do we only count our lack of a (fancy) car in the "bad" column? Do we give all the "good" its proper weight when we make the calculations?
Consider how Yaakov Avinu responded to G-d's promise to give him and his descendants the Land of Israel. He awoke in the morning and vowed: "If G-d gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and enables me to return safely to my home – I will give Him a tenth of all I have" (Genesis 28). That is, he did not take the simple things for granted.
This is why the Sages instituted the Morning Blessings – simple thank-you's for our health (asher yatzar), for our ability to see, to stand up straight, to walk, to get dressed, etc. Reciting these blessings with concentration helps us understand the proper proportions between good and bad, and to appreciate the good.
This is important not only so that we may thank G-d, but also so that we may be happy! After all, happiness is subjective; the very same situation can cause some people to be happy and some to be sad. Almost all poor people today enjoy a standard of living that was once reserved only for the rich; if they would appreciate what they have, as Pirkei Avot teaches, they would be truly happy (and the same goes for the rest of us).
Incidentally, the media plays a role in the distorted way in which we view "good and bad." The media will rarely report on the thousands of wholesome families whose children are healthy, friendly and thriving; but it won't miss a chance to blare headlines about the rare case of a family that was tragically killed. It has reached the point where one who reads or hears too much news begins to truly believe that "bad" is the norm.
In short, one who wants to be happy, and wishes to better understand G-d's ways, is advised to recite the Morning Blessings slowly and carefully, and also to be more selective about the news sites he reads.
This does not fully answer your question, of course. It's nice that the world is mostly good – but we know that G-d is "righteous in all His ways" (as we say in Ashrei); this demands 100% good, not a drop less. But when we consider all the abundance of good, it is easier to understand and believe that even the bad that we experience is rooted in justice, albeit in ways that are unclear to us.
2. G-d's wisdom must also be taken into account. For instance, what we know of the Nature that He created is unbelievable! Every one of the billions of cells in our bodies is an incredible piece of work – both in and of itself, and in the way it coordinates with the other billions. Our knowledge of science constantly advances in giant steps, yet we still know so much less about the world than there actually is to know. We know how to "copy" life, as in cloning, but we do not know how to "create" life. Given that G-d's wisdom in Creation is so sublime, shouldn't we also give Him "credit" for that which we don't understand?
If a child trusts his doctor even when he hurts him – how much more so can we trust G-d even when He hurts us!
And since your question dealt with death: Do we really have any inkling about what death is and what happens to a person after he dies? Of course, in our perception, death is bad; even Halakhah guides us to relate to it as such (we must desecrate the Sabbath in order to prevent death, for instance). But in terms of G-d's ways, we must take into account other options and aspects of death, that are currently beyond our understanding.
3. Following the words of Maimonides (Guide to the Perplexed 3, 12), let me add that much of the bad that we see in the world is the result of people's poor choices. I am of course not referring to the specific cases that you mentioned, the details of which I do not know, nor is it our place to judge them. But in general we must say: Calamities sometimes happen to people who are righteous because of carelessness. King Solomon stated clearly: "A person's folly perverts his way, yet his heart is angry with G-d" (Proverbs 19,3). A person sometimes behaves irresponsibly, thus causing himself harm – and then he rails against G-d as to why he is made to suffer!
G-d created the laws of nature, which include all that is needed to bring the world to its purpose – and then does not (generally) intervene against these laws, even when they lead to negative results. One who ignores or works against these rules, had best realize that he himself is responsible for the consequences, and not G-d.
I was once at a shiva home for a heavy smoker who had died suddenly at a young age. I was surprised to hear the mourners speak about the death as a "decree from Heaven" and the like. There have also been cases of people who drove home and crashed on their way back from fulfilling mitzvot – after not having slept all night. These cases raise questions of faith -- but sometimes the answers are closer than we think.
Answered by Rabbi Azariah Ariel, Rabbi of Mishkan Shmuel, Har Homa, Jerusalem, for yeshiva.org.il/ask
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