The Only Answer to Suffering is "Because"
Why do good people endure horrific illnesses and abuse? A refusal to offer comforting lies. The Creator does not see "Tragedy"; He sees "Correction."
“I enjoy your writing, but I have a hard question. How do you explain people with incurable diseases of body and mind—schizophrenia, terminal cancer, etc.? What is their ‘lesson’ if the disease just leads to deterioration and death? And what about victims of horrific abuse and rape? What kind of ‘lessons’ are these?”
The Fundamental Point: This world is not a destination; it is a Field of Clarification (Sadeh Birur). And sometimes, it is a field of deep fracture.
The Zohar explicitly states that there are souls who descend to the world to correct very deep roots of the Collective, sometimes through suffering that has no solution within the boundaries of this world. This is soul work on a level that is not measured by longevity, health, or function.
High Voltage, Fragile Wire There are situations where the world itself cannot contain the Light that a specific soul carries. This creates extreme friction between the Light and the Vessel. Severe mental and physical illnesses are not necessarily a sign of moral or spiritual corruption. Sometimes, on the contrary: It is because their Root is too high for the structure of this reality. The body collapses or the nervous system breaks under the intensity.
Correction is Not Always “Healing” Baal HaSulam goes a step further: Not every correction is done through the experience of success, progress, or healing. There are corrections that are achieved by the soul’s very agreement to be in a state of helplessness, loss of control, and total disintegration. From the perspective of the Soul Root, not every correction is visible to the eye, and not every correction is meant to manifest as recovery.
On Abuse and Trauma Regarding rape, abuse, and severe injury: There is no justification for this suffering. The perpetrator acts out of a distorted free will and bears full responsibility. Kabbalah places no blame on the victim.
However, the Zohar and Ramchal teach that there are souls who enter extreme states of brokenness to touch the deepest points of Separation, Fear, Humiliation, and Loss of Image. Through this wound, a general movement of correction is sometimes made possible—even if the person themselves does not live to see redemption in this lifetime.
The Tanya adds a layer: We cannot judge a soul by its life story. There are souls whose entire work is simply Holding the Connection to the Creator inside a darkness that has no comfort. Even if the person looks “crushed,” the soul can be in deep Adhesion (Dvekut), invisible to the outside.
The Uncomfortable Truth We must say this honestly from the perspective of Messianic Consciousness: Not all suffering is meant to be solved in this world. Redemption is not a promise that every pain will vanish “here and now.” It is the revelation of the Truth that life is not measured only by the boundaries of the body and time.
This world, with all its beauty, is still a Broken World. Whoever thinks faith is supposed to explain every suffering or “give it a comforting meaning” is looking for a God who is too small.
The Answer is “Because” (Kacha) Therefore, the question is not “What lesson did they get?” But whether we are capable of stopping our measurement of souls by external appearance.
Here is the truth, in one sharp, clean block, without apology: The Creator does not deal with the “External Form” of what a person goes through.
He does not deal with the label of “Accident,” “Illness,” “Rape,” or “Tragedy.”
These are garments of the World of Action (Olam HaAsiya).
The Creator deals with one thing only: The Correction and Clarification of the Soul.
This specific soul came down to walk a specific path. And the moment you truly understand this, the question “Why?” becomes irrelevant. Not because there is no compassion, but because there is a deeper Knowing.
The only answer is: “Kacha” (Because/That’s how it is).
This is how the Creator wanted.
This is how the Creator decided.
And the Creator knows what He is doing.
The Surrender of Logic This is a foundational starting point. If we do not stand on it, all discourse on faith collapses. The Zohar repeats that there is no Judgment below as it appears to the eye, but as it appears from the Root of Souls.
Man asks “Why?” from a perception of Time, Body, Suffering, and Human Logic. The Creator acts from a view of the Total Correction, outside of Time, Body, and Narrative.
The Conclusion Therefore, it does not matter if a person agrees or disagrees. The very fact that you ask teaches a great secret: Everyone is given a different way to pass their Correction. There are no two souls with the same path.
We all pray for the Correction to be with Mercy (Rachamim). But we must say honestly: This is a World of Work. Not a world of comfort. Not a world of human justice. And not a world committed to a “Happy Ending” in the ordinary sense.
Baal HaSulam says: Whoever tries to understand God’s conduct through human eyes will inevitably fail, become bitter, or despair. Whoever is willing to learn How the Creator sees the world (not how Man sees it)—begins to exit the Exile.
It is a question of Stance: Do you surrender your logic to the knowledge that the Creator knows what He is doing? Or do you remain trapped in questions that have no answer on this plane?
This is Humility. Not giving up on compassion. But giving up on the pretension of understanding.
Reflect:
The Judgment: When you see a “tragedy,” do you judge God? Or do you bow your head and say “I don’t understand the script, but I trust the Director”?
The Measure: Stop measuring “Spiritual Success” by health and wealth. Sometimes the highest souls have the hardest lives.
The “Kacha”: Can you sit with the answer “Because”? It is the hardest answer to accept, but the only one that holds the infinite.