A week ago we witnessed the tragedy of Meron where 45 sweet, innocent and truly fine young men lost their lives as their devotion to Hakadosh Baruch was seemingly snuffed out. Then on Sunday, tragedy hit again in a different form as three yeshiva boys were shot in a terrorist attack at the Tapuach Junction. Sadly, Yehudah Guetta z’l, a good friend of my grandson, passed away from the bullet wound to his head. I did not know any of these victims but a whole week I have felt a shroud of despair and continuously questioned silently, why? I prayed to Hashem for understanding, to make sense of these events, because while I rationally understand that this is G-d’s will (and I said Baruch Dayan Emet), emotionally I am searching for justification.
And then I saw a video clip of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (A’’H) in which he discusses the eternal question of Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People. This question has plagued the greatest minds (and the not so great minds) from the time of Moshe Rabbeinu, maybe even from Avraham Aveinu. But we never get an answer. That may be just the point! Rabbi Sacks quotes the Klausenberger Rebbe, Rabbi Yekuteil Halberstam, as saying that it is better not to know. How can that be? Because if we knew the reasons then we may feel there is a justification for evil or tragedy. It is our search for meaning that spurns us on to eradicate the wrong, to seek cures for illness, to give charity to the needy, to make peace with our neighbors. The Klausenberger Rebbe, after surviving the Shoah, bereft at the loss of his wife and 11 children, made a promise to himself that he would dedicate his life to life itself, to saving lives, to bettering lives and eventually he brought his followers to Netanya where he built Kiryat Sanz and the renowned Laniado Hospital.
We have to accept that while there are questions, the answers may elude us.
This week we read two parshiyot - B’har and B’chukotai. In parshat B’har we are given the commandments of Shmittah year and the Jubilee year (The Yovail). In Parshat B’chukotai we are taught that there is a category of mitzvot that we do just because Hashem has commanded us to do so - and while we can rationalize and make up our own reasons why, the real reason that we follow laws such as “shatnez” or the Parah Aduma (the red heifer) is because Hashem has commanded us to do so - and that is reason enough. We mortals do not need to know the reasons why. Both parshiyot bring home the point that our sustenance, our livelihoods, our everyday lives are governed and controlled by Hakadush Baruch Hu. We do not have to worry about how we are going to have parnassah if we let our fields lie fallow every seven years (or if we don’t work on Shabbat) . We put our faith and our trust in G-d's “hands”.
Life goes on. Through the sadness we find meaning. I was happy to be at a beautiful wedding this week of an SBTAG graduate to a dear friend’s son. A marriage is a beautiful simcha. It is an affirmation of life. It is an expression of hope and a commitment to establish a new generation based on Torah values. It is what we want for our children, joy, peace and the knowledge that Hashem will watch over them. Even if we do not understand Hashem’s ways, in G-d we trust.
With these thoughts in mind we can enter into the sanctity and peace of Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom
Rochelle Brand, Ed.D
Head of School
Comments