Get Think Jewish Delivered to your Home or Office
HOME | CONTACT US | DONATE LoginLOGIN Ask the RabbiASK THE RABBI
Chabad.org - Torah, Judaism and Jewish Info News & Current Events
 
Chabad.org » Community & Family » News & Current Events » Editorial & Commentary » Hurricane Katrina  » In the Dark of the Storm
PrintSend this page to a friendShare this
Comment65 Comments

In the Dark of the Storm


In the Dark of the Storm
PrintSend this page to a friendShare this
Comment65 Comments

A photo essay by Tzvi Freeman   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org, and is produced by Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with the copyright policy.
 

65 Comments Posted  |  Post A Comment
Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Aug 22, 2010
Dear Rabbi Friedman:

This was an unusually powerful video!!! G-d has blessed you with a very special talent--to inspire people. May G-d grant you many more opportunities to do so !!!
May G-d help US to BECOME inspired, and to ACT on this inspiration -- to do more good, and to reveal HIS PRESENCE in this world. Sincerely,
Posted By P. Steiner, Thornhill, Ont., Canada

Posted: Aug 24, 2009
to STAMBOUL
Iyov (Job) as an Ish tam that means he was perfect, he was complete, and we know that G-d never said Iyuv deserves punishment all we know is the Satan came over to G-d and said look how good Iyuv's life is he has children and money if you take all that away, G-d, then Iyuv will know longer believe in you.

So G-d let the satan take away all of Iyuv's money, children and even his health.

G-d did not do this for a reason he did it as a test to see how would Iyov react! Will Iyov ask why or will he ask what should I do now. What action does G-d want me to take!

We also know that Avraham was sent ten test, Avraham did nothing wrong but G-d sent hardships to see how would avraham react! Avraham never said why he said what!

We as people have cannot even fathom the complex workings of G-d but we can try to learn lessons from daily occurances and say what should I do because I just stubbed my toe or gave my boss the wrong file
Posted By Elka Chava

Posted: Jan 30, 2006
This is really nice and inspiring. You should publicize it.
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Jan 17, 2006
Hurricane Multimedia
What a wonderful presentation of such a complex subject. The message was delivered magnificently. Thank you.
Posted By Tammy Blumenfeld, Pittsburgh, PA

Posted: Jan 15, 2006
With all my due respect, I would like to state my views. If I misunderstood the message, I apologize in advance.

I do not want to menospretiate the message in the presentation, but in some way I perceived it as simplistic and incomplete.

Everything has a cause, and usually WE are that cause, including hurricanes, suffering and death.

It's about assuming responsibility. God created a perfect Universe with perfect laws. If something went wrong in our lives or our planet, we must understand that some law was bended or ignored, and it has consequences ( NOT PUNISHMENT !!! ).

In the case of the presentation, the consequence was a Hurricane, but the cause were us. In one way or other, we created the devastation, the flooding, the desolation.

We must assume responsibility, and the best we can do is ask to God why, and we must be ready to listen, because the answer is right there, waiting for us. We must be ready to understand, so we can avoid disasters to happen again and again. The problem is that we do not listen, we are arrogants and egocentrics, and that's why we are century after century plunged in wars, hunger, diseases and poverty. And I will repeat myself a thousand times: We must assume responsibility, we are the architects, designers and engineers of our present, past and future. Everything that happens to us was created by us, EVERYTHING !!!.

On the other hand, if our lives are filled with joy and blessings, it is because we understood and follow them ( Universe Rules )

To just sit down and say "It's God's will" will never make us better. I know in fact that there is a God inside of me, and something he never stops telling me is: "Don't be a follower, go and find the answers, you are meant to understand everything that happens inside and out". Make the questions, with the purpose of spiritual growth, and you will get the answers... WE ARE MEANT TO UNDERSTAND, not just to accept.

Love, Peace and Sharing is the answer... truth will follow.
Posted By ronny STAMBOULI

Posted: Dec 3, 2005
Thank You. EVERYTHING has a purpose and YES G-D is in EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE. Though we cant actually be like G-D, we can try to emulate HIM.
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Nov 26, 2005
Where are we?

Let us WAKE UP!!!

Why to we need to wait for disaster to finally acknowlege G-d? -Not only that, THEN we get angry at him, and ask "why?" and "where where were you?".

Let's do our job and praise him, serve him in the manner he has perscribed, ask of him etc.

THERE IS NO ANSWER that we can give, nor do I believe anyone is trying to answer for G-d -for "my thoughts are different from yours", say G-d.

But let look at the possitives of all the questions, commplaints, demands, anger... These things just go to show that we ALL do believe!!! for how can one channel his anger to something that doesn't exist?

When was last time someone got angry, to the point of denial and then written books, essays, articals etc... trying to prove that the tooth fairy, little geine's, or even superman doesn't exist???

The answer, you got it! never b/c you can't get angry at something that doesn't exist!!!
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Nov 25, 2005
In the Dark of the Storm
Thank you. I am a Christian. What you have said here is wonderful. A lesson for us all.
Posted By Knute Josifek

Posted: Nov 24, 2005
Great way to communicate a truth
I grew up in Houston but now I am away at college. When my father told me they were housing two Jewish families from New Orleans I was proud of my family. One family is still staying part time at our house. As my father said, "This is the least I can do, there is so much more to be done".
To say it was punishment from G-d on New Orleans is a very short-sighted view of Him.
Posted By Set ben Yosef, Houston, TX

Posted: Nov 19, 2005
Judgements
Rabbi,
First, I'd like to compliment you on the visual essay. It was beautifully done. But I respectfully disagree with your conclusion.
I think of the aftermath of the judgment G-d brought on Sodom.
Or the aftermath when the waters settled after the judgment, that G-d brought on the world in Noah's day.
Or Sennacherib, king of Assyria, when he woke to find 185,000 of his died solders who thought to mock the Almighty. (2 Kgs 19:35)
Or the aftermath of New Orleans, before they prepared for their annul Gay and Lesbian convention, and Mardi Gras.
I don't believe the Almighty is 'hiding' at all. I believe HE is showing Himself, very clearly.
Posted By Obadiah, Sheffield, AL



 


Hurricane Katrina
In the Dark of the Storm
A New Doll for Gittel
Surviving the Storm
Being in Time: A New Orleans Journal
In the Cleft of the Rock
Homeless
Bush Singles Out Chabad
Showing 1 - 7 of 8