Time, Luck and Fairness
Q. Is time an opportunity for man to give meaning to it by his choice, or does time or luck determine his destiny?
A. Thanks for your question. Time is one of four dimensions: length, width, depth and duration. Unlike the first three dimensions, we can only travel one direction in time: forward. Just as we get to make our decisions in space, we get to make our decisions in time.
For the record, we don't believe in "luck" at all.
Q. What do you mean by length, width and depth when talking about time?
A. You've no doubt heard of spacetime, a concept that was popularized (though not discovered) by Einstein. Spacetime consists of four dimensions: three of space (length, width and depth), plus time. Time is just another dimension.
Q. You said that we don't believe in luck. Well, we are not born by our own hands. Therefore, the conditions in which we are born and in which we will grow are not in our hands. For example, compare a person who was born in Africa and lived with all kinds of problems and sufferings and dies with the same condition at the end of his life with a rich person who was born in America and has all the facilities and finally leaves this world without suffering. If it is not luck, then what is it? This shows that life is not fair for everyone and there is no justice in the world.
A. We don't believe in luck. Luck suggests a randomness to the universe; we believe in God's Divine providence. We are not born by our own hands, but we're here because God decided we should be here. ("Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..." - Jeremiah 1:5.) We are all born into different circumstances because God places us in situations that are best suited for our souls' development. Being born needy is obviously a test, but so is being born well-off. (Obviously, being born well-off is more comfortable test, but don't kid yourself that it's "easier.") You can read more about this concept here.
The fact that we don't all have the same things in life doesn't mean that there's no justice. I like to quote the 1970s movie The Big Bus. Jose Ferrer plays the villain, who is in an iron lung. His jealous brother complains that their father always favored Ferrer. "How come you got the iron lung?" he complained. "Because I'm the one who was sick!" Ferrer replied. What the brother perceived to be favoritism was actually a case of a father knowing what each child needs.
Comedian James Perry, in his book I Still Want to Be an Astronaut, posits that life isn't fair, but it is kind. After all, we all have good things in our lives that we have done nothing to deserve. If life were "fair," you'd have to earn every good thing you enjoy. Instead, God gives you so many good things for free. People just complain that others have different good things. Nobody has them all.
Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.