At the end of days, the prophet Malachi says, you will be able to tell the righteous from the wicked at a glance: "You shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not" (Malachi 3:18). The rabbis were fascinated by this — not the judgment itself, but the seeing.
Isaiah adds the interior dimension: "And you shall see and your heart shall rejoice" (Isaiah 66:14). What does the heart see that makes it rejoice? Two things, according to Aggadat Bereshit. First: the good prepared for the righteous, the paradise that no eye has yet seen — "No eye has seen, O God, besides You, what You have prepared for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 64:3). Second: the judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom, and the relief of not being among them. The righteous will stand at the edge of destruction and understand what they escaped.
This is a theology of vindication, not vengeance. The rabbis were careful with the distinction. The righteous do not rejoice at the suffering of the wicked — they rejoice at the clarity. The confusion of this world — where the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, where justice seems absent or delayed — resolves at the end of days into something legible. "You shall see and your heart shall rejoice" is the promise that the suffering of the righteous was not random, not wasted, not unnoticed. It was always in the accounting.
Chapter 22:Torah [1] "Chalilah" [God forbid! Far be it] to you from doing, etc. (Genesis 18:25). "Flesh and blood" say to the Holy One, Blessed be He, [Far be it] "Chalilah," etc. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said, "The God of Israel spoke to me, the Rock of Israel," etc. (2 Samuel 23:3). What does this mean? David said, "Come and hear what the Holy One, Blessed be He, said," as it is said, "The Lord, the God of Israel," etc. Israel said to Him, "What did You say to us?" He said to them, "The Rock of Israel rules over man, the righteous rule by the fear of God," etc. (2 Samuel 23:3). Why does the Holy One, Blessed be He, decree a matter by His fear, and the righteous rule by His fear? How does the Holy One, Blessed be He, stand by His fear to turn the course of the constellations? Abraham the righteous ruled by His fear and began to say, "Why do You do so?" as it is said, [God forbid!] "Chalilah," etc. The righteous rule by the fear of God. Rabbi Acha said, Rabbi Acha said, "Do you want to know the power of the righteous and how they rule with fear of God? It is as if God raised them and made them His ministers, as it is said, 'And they cast lots, the one with the other, for the offices of the holy ones and the officers of God' (1 Chronicles 24:5). Blessed be His name that He esteems the righteous with the attribute of humility, calling them His ministers who rule with fear of Him, as it is said, 'Far be it from You to do such a thing' (Genesis 18:25)." [2] Another interpretation: "Far be it, don't think that way." The Almighty does not keep silent about acts of heroism and grace (Job 41:4). The Holy One, blessed be He, said that people should not say, 'We too can speak with God just as Abraham did.' God said to Abraham (whose name was read as 'to him') 'I keep silent only for you, because you have kept silent for Me. And when did Abraham keep silent? It was when I told him, "Through Isaac shall your seed be called" (Genesis 21:12), and then I said to him, "Take him up as an offering" (Genesis 22:2), and he kept silent, as it is said, "But as for me, I am like the deaf, I do not hear" (Psalms 38:14). So I too keep silent for him, 'I keep silent only for you.' Even though he spoke harshly to Me and spoke of acts of heroism and grace, I still consider him pleasing. But what acts of heroism did he speak of? It was when he approached Me (Genesis 18:23-33). Rabbi Judah says, the term 'he approached' (vayigash) can only mean a warlike approach, as it is said, 'And Joab approached, and the people that were with him, for the battle' (2 Samuel 10:13). And Rabbi Nehemiah says, it can only mean a request, as it is said, 'Then Judah approached him' (Genesis 44:18). And the Sages say, it can only mean prayer, as it is said, 'And when the meal offering was presented, he approached and completed' (1 Chronicles 23:30). God said to him, 'No, no, may it never be that they should say, "This is God's way, to subject His creatures to cruelty." In the generation of the Flood, and in the generation of the Dispersion, I did not restrain My wrath, but with you, may it never be.'" God said to him, "What do you decree? Come and I will show you all the generations that I have lost, and I will show you that I did not collect from them according to their sins, but rather less than deserved. And if you think that I have acted unfairly, teach me and I will act fairly from now on, as it is said, 'Without you seeing me, I will see what I have done. If I have done wrong, I will no longer do so' (Job 34:32). Without you seeing me, I will see what I have done without you, and I will see," they said. "From now on, if I have done wrong, I will not do so anymore." Abraham said to him, "You do not pass judgment on a creature, as it is said, 'Therefore, you men of understanding, hear me: Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to do wrong. For according to the work of a man he will repay him' (Job 34:10-11). Therefore, God forbid." [3] Another interpretation: "Far be it, don't think that way." Abraham said before the Holy One, Blessed be He, "I foresee with the spirit of holiness that the woman saved the city of Shalem, and I am not worthy to give birth to these five scrolls. And which woman saved the city? It is Serach bat Asher, at the time when Sheva ben Bichri rebelled and fled from David in Abel Beth Maacah, as it is said 'And all the people who are with Joab were destroying to break the wall' (2 Samuel 20:15). When Serach bat Asher realized this, she began to cry out, "Call Joab!" When Joab came, she said to him, "You are the one whom the verse mocks, 'You sit in the Sabbath to be wise, etc.' (2 Samuel 23:8). This is not what is written in the Torah, 'When you approach a city, etc.' (Deuteronomy 20:10), and you should not have done so, as it is said, 'They spoke beforehand, etc.' (2 Samuel 20:18). And so it ended (ibid), 'The wise men of the city of Israel have ended the words of the Torah, Why should the inheritance of the Lord be swallowed up?' (2 Samuel 20:19). When Joab heard this, he was afraid and said, "Are there righteous people here? Woe to me," as it is said, 'Then Joab answered and said, 'Far be it, far be it, etc.' (ibid, 20). Joab said to her, "Who are you?" She said to him, "I am Shlomi, the faithful of Israel" (ibid, 19). "I am the one who paid the count of seventy souls," as it is said, 'Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy souls, etc.' (Deuteronomy 10:22). They were counted as sixty-nine, and I completed the count, as it is said, 'And there is the daughter of Asher, Serach' (Numbers 26:46). But stand in your place and let me make peace, as it is written "Behold, his head is thrown to you over the wall" (2 Samuel 20:21). And so she thought to herself that she would give her head to Joab, but see what she did. Then the woman went to all the people with her wisdom (same verse). "What is her wisdom?" She said to them, "Know that Joab and all Israel outside seek to kill us and our children and to destroy us." They said to her, "Why?" She said to them, "One hundred men from the city are seeking (to kill us)." They said to her, "Let him take them." She said to them, "He only seeks fifty." They thought it was good and agreed to give him fifty. In the end, she said to them, "Not one hundred, not fifty, not even twenty or five, unless you give him the head of Sheva ben Bichri." Immediately, they cut off the head of Sheva ben Bichri (2 Samuel 20:15-22). Behold the wisdom of this woman! Just as Abraham used his wisdom to negotiate with God, going down from fifty to forty to ten, so too did this woman. King Solomon praised her wisdom above the mighty warriors (Ecclesiastes 9:18), for Joab and his men had the power, but this woman's wisdom triumphed over all. Once Joab took the head of the guilty man, he returned and did not touch the city. Abraham said, "What if Joab, when he took the guilty man, had spared the whole city? You, who are merciful, would destroy everything. Heaven forbid that you should do such a thing" (Genesis 18:25).
