How do Jews struggle with God in their religion?

Answer 1

Theodicy in Judaism is one of the most difficult issues that Jews have to reconcile. Just as it does in Christianity and Islam, the presence of evil in the world is a big problem when you have an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God.

Answer 2

It could be theorized that any complaint is a form of struggling with God, because complaints ("it's too hot") suggest that God doesn't know what He's doing (or isn't there). This kind of struggle can be seen in such instances as Exodus ch.16 and Numbers ch.20-21. Link: Complaints in the Wilderness

The exception, of course, is when one is saying "it's too hot" to a person who can remedy the situation (the person who's been entrusted with the air-conditioner remote control). In Exodus 16 and Numbers 20-21, although God was able to remedy the problem and did so, it was still considered a struggle since some people complained instead of asking.

Sinning might also be seen as a type of unconscious struggle, since the sinner is implying that one of God's rules is incorrect or draconian.

Another, permitted form of struggle is through prayer, as seen in Genesis ch.19, where Abraham bargained again and again for God's reprieve of the Sodomites. This form of struggle should be carried out carefully, so as not to stray over the line into brazenness; and in Genesis 19 we see how Abraham apologized repeatedly in order to avoid such a problem. Because of the possibly risky nature of prayer, our prayers today are usually not improvised, but rather stick to the texts handed down to us by the ancient prophets and sages.

One significant subcategory of the struggle of prayer may be seen in the Talmud, Sanhedrin 97b-98a, in which God announces that we must repent before he will be willing to send us the Redemption, while we argue that God should make the first move, which will then catalyze us to repent. Similarly, in the Talmud (Berakhot 32a), we argue that it was God's having created the inclination to evil which was the cause for our sins.
Of course, the last two quotes will not by themselves suffice to "win the argument." Both of these Talmud quotes are meant poetically, to give us hope and to serve as a single step in the right direction which we must ourselves add to through the general remedy of Torah-observance as best we can.

As for the issue of theodicy mentioned above, consider the two following quotes, which seem to clash. One is Isaiah 45:7, which clearly states that God "creates evil." The second is Lamentations 3:38, which says "from the mouth of the Most High, evil...did not result."

The answer to the contradiction may be seen in a third verse, Proverbs 19:3, which says "the foolishness of a man corrupts his way, yet his anger is directed against God." Meaning, that while some evil is undoubtedly created by God (such as the death of an infant), a lot of evil is the result of humans' choices. God has given us the gift of free-will (Deuteronomy 30:15-20); and without the possibility of bad results, free-will would be vitiated.

Entire books (such as Job) have long ago been written about the existence of evil and suffering.

Link: About Job

Suffice it to say that Judaism sees the existence of evil as a test, and/or the result of our own (humans') bad choices, and/or a warning (such as pain, which shows you what part of your body needs repair) or a message (Genesis 42:22), and/or mere misinterpretation (such as the bee's sting, which to a child is unmitigated evil but which adults recognize as a protection for that insect which pollinates all fruit-bearing trees).

In any case, this life was never meant to be a walk in the park. People are meant to invest hard effort in this world (see Job 5:7), and suffering is a factor which should assist us in gaining understanding.

Suffering teaches us:

• our mistakes (Genesis 42:22)
  
• to repent
  
• that we are not all-powerful or in control
  
• that this life is not meant to be uninterrupted pleasure
  
• to have sympathy for sufferers (Exodus 23:9)
  
• humility; maturity; acceptance; fortitude.

Also, when viewed in the context of the afterlife, when worthy people who suffered may be recompensed and the prosperous wicked will have the opposite, the apparent injustices of this world become easier to understand.

See also the other Related Links.

Link: Why is there suffering?

Link: What does suffering teach Jews?