Presence

Gil, recently unmasked over at Hirhurim, posted a justification for theodicy. I posted a lengthy rebuttal in the comments, but I wanted to add my two cents over here as well. This happens to be an instance where I don't have to spend hours composing a response, as I already wrote one a while back. Please see previous posts entitled, "Out of the Whirlwind," and "The Only Question" (with preference on the former).

I will add that Gil's approach assumes we have a static, unchanging relationship with God, that the standing of the relationship has not changed since the times of the First and Second Temples. It does not take into account that as a nation we are exiled, from our Land and from His Presence, and the affect this exile might have on our ability or responsibility to engage in theodicy. Fortunately, we were also shown the way back into His Presence, and our task at this point is to get there; at that point, as Moshe saw, it will be appropriate to ask "Why?" The answer, I'm afraid, will be the same (see Ex 33:12-23).