to one fascinating interpretation from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes.
The verse at the heart of it all is Ecclesiastes 8:4: "Since the king's word has power, and who will say to him: What are you doing?" But what does this really mean? Rabbi Bon, in Kohelet Rabbah, uses this verse to explore a complex theological question: If God sets rules, why does it sometimes seem like He doesn't follow them Himself? We're told "Do not test the Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:16), yet the Torah itself recounts how "God tested Abraham" (Genesis 22:1) with the binding of Isaac. We're commanded "Do not take vengeance and do not bear a grudge" (Leviticus 19:18), but then we read "The Lord is a zealous and vengeful God" (Nahum 1:2). Contradictory. The rabbis use an analogy to make sense of this apparent paradox. Imagine a rabbi instructing his disciple: "Don’t pervert justice," but then the rabbi himself does. "Don’t show favoritism," yet the rabbi grants it. A parallel story in Bereshit Rabbah (55:3) adds: The rabbi forbids lending with interest, but then lends with interest himself! The student, understandably confused, asks, "Rabbi, is it permitted for you but forbidden for me?"
The rabbi explains, "I only meant you cannot lend to another Israelite with interest, but you can lend to a gentile, as it is written: 'You may take interest from a gentile' (Deuteronomy 23:21)."
The point? The disciple didn’t fully understand the nuances and the context of the rabbi's actions. He saw only the surface level.
Now, let’s bring this back to the big picture. According to this midrash, Israel challenges God in much the same way. "Master of the Universe," they say, "didn't you write in Your Torah, 'Do not take vengeance and do not bear a grudge?' Yet, You take vengeance and bear a grudge!"
God's response, according to Kohelet Rabbah, is illuminating. He says, "I will not bear a grudge against Israel, as it is written: 'He will not contend to eternity or forever bear a grudge' (Psalms 103:9). However, for the nations of the world: 'The Lord is vengeful to His foes and bears a grudge against His enemies' (Nahum 1:2)." He further clarifies, "I dictated to you in My Torah: 'Do not take vengeance and do not bear a grudge against the members of your people' (Leviticus 19:18), but you may take vengeance against the nations of the world, as it is stated: 'Avenge the children of Israel [on the Midianites]' (Numbers 31:2)."
And here's where we loop back to our original verse. "Since the king's word has power, and who will say to him: What are you doing?" It isn't necessarily about a double standard. It’s about the complexities of divine justice and the limitations of human understanding. God's actions operate on a plane we can't always fully grasp.
So, what does this all mean for us? Perhaps it's a call for humility. To recognize that we may not always see the full picture. It's an invitation to trust in a higher wisdom, even when things seem contradictory or unfair. It's a reminder that justice, like a tapestry, has many threads, and we may only see a few at a time. And maybe, just maybe, that perceived double standard is really just a matter of perspective.