Continuing with the extended Birkhas Qedushah of the Yamim Nora’im, moving on to the second “UVekhein”:

וּבְכֵן צַדִּיקִים יִרְאוּ וְיִשְׂמָֽחוּ וִישָׁרִים יַעֲלֹֽזוּ וַחֲסִידִים בְּרִנָּה יָגִֽילוּ וְעוֹלָֽתָה תִּקְפָּץ פִּֽיהָ. וְכָל הָרִשְׁעָה כֻּלָּהּ כְּעָשָׁן תִּכְלֶה כִּי תַעֲבִיר מֶמְשֶֽׁלֶת זָדוֹן מִן הָאָֽרֶץ

And thus, the righteous will see [this] and rejoice, and the upright will be jubilant, and the pious will exult with joyous song; crime will close its mouth, and all evil will disappear like smoke, when You remove the rule of evil from the earth.

What does it mean when we say something “disappears like smoke”?

Wondering about this started a train of thought, which led to this interpretation:

As they say in most sports, “The best defense is a good offense.” When does evil disappear? When the righteous rejoice, the upright are jubilant, and the pious are singing songs of joy.

This then silences crime and sin. Yes, we can attack the evil middos that cause us to stumble. Or we can build up their opposites. Instead of being unfair to get ourselves what we want, we can pursue tzedeq. Rather than caving in to temptation, we can have integrity. Rather than settling for good enough, we can strive for piety. Fighting sadness is not nearly as effective as chasing the things that bring joy and happiness.

And when one cannot hear the call of crime and sin, of course evil becomes a non-issue. But we don’t just say that. We say it “disappears like smoke”.

Hashem attenuated His presence at Har Sinai to a level a human can tolerate by making “וְהַ֤ר סִינַי֙ עָשַׁ֣ן כֻּלֹּ֔ו — Mount Sinai was all smoke.” Smoke is a means of blocking one’s view.

The metaphor of smoke is literally what we would call in English a “smokescreen”.

Evil, tragedy and unholiness only exist when looking at the universe from the inside. Everything Hashem causes or allows to exist is part of His ultimate Good.

And when one rises above one’s own interests to pursue His, the destructive parts of one’s self fall away, the smoke obscuring our view parts, and one can get glimpses of that Perfection.