The Darkei Mussar quotes Rav Yitzchok Meir ben-Menachem (son-in-law of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer) as deriving from here [when the Jews received quail in the desert] a beautiful lesson in how Hashem runs the world. Rashi explains that the quail floated in mid-air at a level of two amos (3-4 feet) off the ground, so that the Jews who went to gather them wouldn’t have to exert themselves to bend over and pick up the quail from off the ground. However, we know that a mere two verses later (11:33), the Torah relates that those who gluttonously consumed the quail died with the unchewed meat still between their teeth. If Hashem felt that their complaints and request for meat were inappropriate and planned to use the quail as an instrument of Divine punishment, why did He miraculously suspend the quail in mid-air in order to prevent unnecessary efforts on the part of such sinners?
Rather, we may derive from here that Hashem’s Divine system of reward and punishment is precisely meted out, and even a person upon whom suffering is decreed will only experience exactly the amount of pain which is coming to him and not the slightest bit more. We similarly find that although Yosef was sold into slavery and forced to endure untold suffering in Egypt, the Arab caravan which took him to Egypt was uncharacteristically carrying sweet-smelling spices (Bereishis 37:25) in order to save him from unnecessary suffering. Rashi also writes (Vayikra 14:34) that even when Hashem brings tzara’as upon the house of a person who speaks evil of others, it still brings with it the blessing of allowing the owner to discover valuable treasures which were hidden in the walls of house by the previous Canaanite inhabitants. Although nobody enjoys the suffering he is forced to endure throughout life, the knowledge that it is precisely meted out by a loving and compassionate G-d who won’t put him through the smallest amount of unnecessary pain can make it significantly more bearable.
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