Rav Kook's Ein Ayah: How Hashem Relates to the Evil Person

(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 12:27-28)

[We continue with lessons to be learned from pairs of letters from the aleph bet.]

Gemara: Kuf represents kadosh (holy, i.e., Hashem); reish represents rasha (an evil person). Why does the face of the kuf turn away from the reish? For Hashem says: “I cannot look at an evil person.” And why does the “crown” of the kuf extend toward the reish? For Hashem says: “If he returns from his way, I will tie onto him a crown like Mine.”

Ein Ayah: When wickedness reaches its final stage, of complete evil, sometimes the rasha can use the types of methods which on their own merit could be activities of justice, and so people might see them as the paths of righteousness. However, Hashem looks at things from their beginnings to their ends and can discern the evil plots that are embedded in the actions of the evil and only appear to be proper. All such false colors of the righteous-looking actions of the evil are very far from the face of Holiness.

The kuf represents the root of sanctity and the reish represents the root of evil. Only Hashem can say in an absolute manner, even at a time at which the ultimate evil is being done in the manner of righteousness, that all of the evil person’s actions together form an approach that is the opposite of the approach of righteousness based on their essential depth. That is why Hashem cannot look at the evil person.

On the other hand, there is a permanent rule that Hashem incorporated into existence that ultimate good must be completed with the help of all of the actions. Therefore, there is a special power that every action of a man possesses. Therefore, even though man has free will and he is capable of doing horrible things, all of the actions, even with their most negative consequences, are bad for the overall state of the world only with a condition attached to them – they remain bad only as long as the perpetrator does not change his character from bad to good. However, if a person changes his ways and is now focused on doing good, then there is a special connection between all of his actions, even the ones he already did when he was deep in the direction of evil, and between existence. They will reconnect with many factors that enable, within the realm of existence, to extract the most positive elements from those actions. This is in line with the approach of Hashem, who made everything for His glory, for the greatest and holiest purpose. That is the general direction of holiness, which is the crown of creation, and this holiness is lofty enough to accept any action that is now refocused to the pinnacle of grandeur and glory, to make the world a more adorned place.

This is what it means that the point of the kuf is facing the reish, in other words, that Hashem remains in waiting for the evil person to change his path, and then He can tie on a crown to it. This is a most exalted crown, the holy approach of taking everything in existence and having Hashem’s thoughts find the ability for even evil actions to take part in glorifying Him, as if it is a crown of Hashem. The condition is that the evil person changes his nature to a positive one.

Kuf represents kadosh (holy, i.e., Hashem); reish represents rasha (an evil person). Why does the face of the kuf turn away from the reish? For Hashem says: “I cannot look at an evil person.” And why does the “crown” of the kuf extend toward the reish? For Hashem says: “If he returns from his way, I will tie onto him a crown like Mine.”