How is Torah Just?

Rav Shalom Shwadron, zt”l, taught, “Imagine someone as righteous as Rav Chaim Brisker, zt”l. He truly sacrifices for Torah and learns every second of the day with the intention of extracting every detail of halachah in every sugya—especially with regards to monetary matters. Now contrast this with some freethinker known to have very loose morals. If Rav Chaim were to take the freethinker to beis din claiming that he owed him money and the freethinker claims to have paid, who would we believe?

“We all know that Rav Chaim was famous for his great humility and that he gave every penny of his assets to help anyone in need. Anyone in search of a hot meal or a donation of money or firewood knew to go straight to Rav Chaim’s home. Everyone understands that Rav Chaim would never lie to receive a few dollars that do not belong to him, since he will not even partake of anything that has the slightest tinge of theft. Does anyone believe this freethinker against him?

“If left to our own devices we may have declared that we have a majority of opinion in Rav Chaim’s favor, and the overwhelming odds are that the maksil still owes the money. Why not just force him to pay it back? But this is not the halachah. The halacha is that Rav Chaim will only win if he is correct according to the halachos relevant to his case. Even though logic clearly favors him, the beis din may not. This is the meaning of the verse, 'כי המשפט לאלוקים הוא'. We do not follow our own understanding, like the non-Jewish courts. We follow Hashem’s law and leave Him to work out anything that is unfair. And He always does…”