The Rabbi had traveled with Elijah for days and seen strange justice everywhere. A poor couple had hosted them with warmth, and that night the family cow died. A wealthy man had turned them away coldly, and in the morning Elijah repaired the rich man's broken garden wall as a gift. A synagogue had been inhospitable, and Elijah blessed every member to become its president. A different synagogue had welcomed them, and Elijah blessed them to have one president among them.
The Rabbi could not keep silent any longer. "Your blessings and your curses look the same."
"Listen," said Elijah, "and learn to trust in God even where you cannot understand His ways."
"The poor couple — it had been decreed that the wife would die that day. I prayed that the cow might be taken in her place. God accepted the trade, and the woman is still alive in her husband's arms."
"The rich man's wall — I repaired it without digging a new foundation. Had he repaired it himself, he would have dug deep and found the treasure buried beneath it. Now the treasure is lost to him forever."
"The cold synagogue — I blessed them that each member should be a president. Many rulers means no peace; they will tear themselves apart. The warm synagogue — I blessed them with one leader, so that no quarrel could divide them."
Elijah finished. "Do not envy the wicked when they prosper. Do not despair over the righteous when they suffer. You are seeing only the doors — never the rooms behind them."
The world is more just than it looks. We are simply looking at it from the wrong side.