A Balanced G-d: Justice, Mercy, and the Soul’s Return — Reflections on Bamidbar

In Parshas Bamidbar, we are brought into the tension between awe and closeness, between Divine justice and Divine compassion. It’s a tension that mirrors the deepest questions of the soul: Is G-d to be feared or loved? Does He forgive, or does He demand strict accountability? Can we approach Him as we are, or must we first earn our way back?

The Berdichever Rebbe, Reb Levi Yitzchak, invites us into a deeper synthesis.

He begins by questioning a seemingly paradoxical phrase from the Friday night zemiros in Kol Mekadeish:

“Meshokh chasdecha l’yodecha, Kel kana v’nokeim”

“Draw Your kindness upon those who know You, O jealous and vengeful G-d.”

How can one sincerely ask for mercy while invoking Divine jealousy and vengeance? This juxtaposition appears to contradict the very plea being made. But perhaps, says the Berdichever, that contradiction is where the truth begins.

Two Misconceptions of the Divine

Reb Levi Yitzchak points out that there are two extremes people often fall into when relating to Hashem.

One is the view of Hashem as harsh and punishing, a Being who is primarily interested in strict justice. In this view, religion becomes anxiety. Torah becomes survival. G-d is to be feared—but not approached.

The other extreme is the denial of consequence altogether, imagining Hashem as an indulgent, unconditionally approving figure who demands nothing and forgives everything by default. In this model, there is little incentive for change, no awe, no weight, and ultimately no direction.

Both perspectives distort the truth. Both remove the possibility of genuine relationship.

The Synthesis: King and Father

What the Berdichever offers is not a compromise between justice and mercy, but a deeper integration. He explains that Chazal’s statement—“Whoever says Hashem overlooks sins will have his life overlooked”—is not a rejection of Divine forgiveness. It is a rejection of apathy.

The one who believes that Hashem overlooks sins because He does not care about what we do is engaging in spiritual denial. But the one who understands that Hashem does care deeply, and that He is both Judge and Redeemer, King and Father, is precisely the one who can say, with integrity, that Hashem forgives.

To truly know G-d is to live in the paradox. To sense the reverence of His judgment and the tenderness of His mercy. To feel both small before His power and beloved within His presence.

What Opens the Gates of Kindness

This is why the request in Kol Mekadeish makes sense. “Draw Your kindness upon those who know You.” Who are those? The ones who understand the duality. Who internalize that Hashem is Kel kana v’nokeim—a G-d who takes justice seriously—but who also believe He is capable of overflowing kindness.

It is precisely those who perceive the full picture—who do not reduce Hashem to a caricature of only wrath or only love—who are able to receive His mercy in its fullness.

Hashem forgives the one who returns not because He doesn’t care what we’ve done, but because He cares enough to receive our return with open arms.

In Summary

It is important to understand that Hashem loves justice and can and will punish those who transgress His word. At the same time, we must also maintain the awareness that Hashem is perfectly kind and that He wipes away the sins of those who return to Him.

This is not abstract theology. It is a path for how to live in relationship. To know that we are seen and known. To know that consequences exist not to shame us but to awaken us. And to know that the return is always possible, always desired, and always met with mercy.