Shall the judge of all the earth not do justice? (Genesis 18:25.)
There are those who are angry with G‑d for all the horrors and suffering they have seen. They say the deal is up. He has broken His covenant.
It is not for us to argue. Their voice must be heard. Perhaps G‑d will listen.
There are no shofar sounds left in my neshama to express the kinds of horrors and suffering I have seen and experienced.
Thank you for another Impossibly Timely (Timeless?) and Telepathic post.
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I believe we should keep praying and believing because He alone knows the exact moment , the date and time, when everything that we see can change according to His will. Reply
It's all too easy to blame G-d when faced with the very real pain felt by an innocent, and seeing the apparent success of people who can in no way be described as behaving in any ethical behavior,. I heard an interesting analogy during a discussion of this enigma, the gist of which was G-d can only be blamed for giving Mankind the gift of free will. In short, what do we do when there is no reward or punishment for actions.
The analogy used was how quickly we turned from appreciating the potential of flight to how short a time elapsed before someone started attaching guns and weapons to a plane.
Without free will, the universe is just a waste of time and space, no responsibility for anything, a pointless machine.
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I'm absolutely certain the Eternal-Creator will ,listen! Reply
My views are different than most: less we forget the “opponent” or “adversary”? The beginning of this was not G-d… the end will be. I do not question G-d, even though my heart breaks and my rage is higher than I have ever known. My rage is of holiness. I do not doubt that the end will be in glory for the nation of Israel. Still I have 3 fears. First is the suffering of the people of Israel. Second is for those who will loose their faith. The third is selfish, and for my lack of feeling mercy. But I will never ask, “Why?” (remembering that I am safe in my home in the States.) I will not judge the heart of an Israeli, and I will submit my entire faith to G-d. Through the Nation of Israel, the opponent/adversaries will answer to Him. How will we learn from this immense pain? I do not know. But glory is, and will always be to… G-d The Highest. The one who knows is the one who is with Israel. And through Him, with Israel, is my heart.
G-d speed, my friends.
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Thanks to all folks here! Some great wisdom and words to reflect on and enriches us all, as we wander the wilderness. If I have turned away my belief, I do it in protest! If I hate, there are probably some reasons. I can hate Gd assuredly, and not believe, but is because mine eyes are watered and my trust destroyed, no justice was served to my oppressors, instead, they lived comfortable, long lives, and given many blessings on this Earth. Where is justice? Where is Gd? Reply
Thank you!!!
A close friend told me that she hates God cause he hates her. Human psychology shows that you judge others feelings about you according to how you feel about them. Since she is angry and hates Him, she thinks that the feeling is mutual.
I used to try arguing with her, but I've learned that I cant. You're right. she went through so much suffering. I hope that she will soon be emotionally well enough to realize that she has been wrong.
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I'm not angry with God. I'm angry with people who are in a position to help other people. We are here to do God's will not sit around and say He will do his will!
Love!
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My anger with G-d over the holocaust and the loss of the 6 million Jews, is balanced with the doubt that after all He may not be responsible for it. Compared to His magnitude and the size of the cosmos over which he has dominance, it may be a small thing, which begs the question of will we ever be able to influence Him? Does there exist a need for our humidity to stretch that far? Reply
I agree. I believe we can influence God! But not mainly in our prayers and pleas. We influence God by the way we ACT in this world in relation to our fellow created beings. That I believe is expressed again and again in the teachings, and in the prayers when truly translated. Blessings! Levannah aka Anna Lautanen Reply
Levannah, On the basis of what you are writing, the fact that so many of our Jews died during the holocaust must have been due to what they failed to do! I find this to be extremely unlikely and so I find your claim to be incapable of providing the reason for so much Jewish suffering during that Nazi regime. Reply
My apologies ! ! I'm sorry. What I said is only a part of what I think about sometimes. (chatting and emailing ideas has such drawbacks) I'm saying that perhaps G-d judges the world, all people, together. And those who receive harshness are NOT necessarily the ones who most deserve it. The suffering of a group of people, or of ONE person, should be given serious attention. If we can help directly, we should do so. AND we should examine ourselves, singular and plural, to see where our attitudes or actions could influence G-d (the world) to be less harsh, and with it, more loving. I'm saying it is up to us to see that judgment or love is prevalent. This still is not my complete thinking. I mean this as a hopeful message. I hope this clarifies enough. Shalom. Reply
So what you are now suggesting, Levannah, is that when one part of the Jewish community misbehaves some other part gets punished! If this is how G-d treats us I would rather give up praying for peace, because no logic applies. Even praying for disaster would be of no use! By implication our prayers are for attention not opposition by the Almighty. Reply
G-d listens.
G-d always listens. He doesn't get involved he listens to every voice he hears in the light and darkness. However, G-d takes a peek-a-boo to see how we are all doing spiritually.
To have wisdom is to have patience, and to have patience is to have wisdom. It means to see within yourselves the reflection of G-d wisdom.
Always be patient.
Thank you
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Source
The source of this thought is significant to its understanding:
As the news of the holocaust hit American Jewry, there were Jewish journalists began to write along the lines of "there is no longer any covenant. If there is a G_d, He has broken His part of the deal."
An orthodox journalist wrote to the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, and asked if he should "declare war" on those who wrote these editorials.
The above is Rabbi Yosef Yitzchaak's response, as reported in Kfar Chabad magazine, volume 496.
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G-d is always listening. Really, we don't get any points for complaining. Before we have a problem or protest against G-d, let's think about the mitzvah we could be doing at that moment. Maybe we should keep a list of mitzvahs by our side so that we can shift focus when we start having dark thoughts. We should definitely write down our concerns in a notebook because it provides relief and also then we know that we don't have to think about it anymore because it's in writing and Hashem will look there instead of in our hearts which are becoming blackened by our inability to see any good at the moment of the protest. Reply
action and non-action
someone said, non-action, as to those witnesses of the holocaust, is a crime.
we therefore, must ponder, did we all who claimed to be jewish, besides being a g-d obeying race, did we as well, help other race to know and get to the true essence of g-d??
all these talks, all these pondering, all these thoughts and imaginations, teachings and studies, if not putting into sustainable actions with goal and objective orientation, they are just no more than clouds hanging oover our heads, between heaven and eath, but cease to be any good to anyone.
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These is a good meditation. And this also came to mind. "When you cry out to G-d for justice (or for revenge) against those who have hurt you be careful, at the same time your nemesis could be crying out to G-d for justice (or revenge) against you."