Is it Okay to be Angry with G‑d?

Ok buckaroos I’m all for Hashem showing His reasons and good fortune now Reply

Judaism is not a system of faith. We are people of G-d. So what does that mean? I means we know with certainty that God exists, and our job is to be his people regardless of the conditions we live under. This is why we have so much hardship. It is no coincidence that bad things rain down upon us at times. But we are supposed to stay in line G-d no matter where we are, when we are or how we are. That is a tall order. Many of us have wandered away from Torah and Mitzvah be of the path we find ourselves on. We do have Tzuvah to consider, and a righteous path to be on. But that path is fraught with difficulty heartache and pain. When in life heartache and pain fills your every waking hour, and satisfaction and peace are illusive it is difficult to focus on anything other than that which has brought it upon you. You ask yourself what have I done? Am I a bad person? How has this happened to me? And there are no answers. There are no prayers that can adequately express those feelings. Reply

What's the makor for this view? This that the Rebbe taught to scream ad mosai is exclusive to Moshiach. Who said anything negative in life we get to scream at Hashem? Isn't this a stirah to emuna and bitachon? Reply

Just a little addition to previous content. Our mortality and suffering is the result of evil. Before the fruit of the tree of good and evil, evil was external to us. After, evil integrated with our soul, we necessarily have to perish to be rid of the evil. HaShem said this would happen but as we as humans always do, we make bad decisions. But, our service to HaShem in this condition is precious. Every time we turn an evil condition or event into something good or we get an opportunity to correct a wrong, we ensure ourselves a place in the future world, for our souls will live on with the pleasure of heavenly delights. We are here now for these experiences and we cannot change it, we can only make the best of it Reply

I find that we as humans tend to complain about others when we don't understand all the context about an event and we have the Monday morning quarterback syndrome. I am guilty as well. We are commanded to love and serve unconditionally as we could never understand the whole picture of HaShem's purposes. However we are given a glimpse and are told there is a purpose for people to witness events that we don't understand. While, I believe we can ask HaShem for insight for the lesson intende, we don't have the right to express anger at our Creator and ultimate King. Even Moses had anger issues and had to learn lessons as a consequence of that anger even though it wasn't directed at HaShem. How much more so when it is directed at our Creator. But we can respectfully question and expect answers. The answers are hidden in events, dreams, recurring themes in Torah study, etc. You have to look but the answers are ther Reply

I'm also extremely mad at G-d. Too much suffering,

I felt as if I was the one that wrote the comment. I feel exactly the same...

I also still have a relationship with Him but my anger at Him and what He allows is immense.

I can truly see the beauty in the world and creatures He made... except, of course, for the human race.

I've had many conversations with my parents and pshychologist about this and I still don't believe that such a powerful, beautiful and almighty G-d would allow all of the terrible things humans have done (and keep on doing).

I haven't heard Him whispering to me "you will see". What is it that we will see? I don't care if I'm happy and in a better place when I die. I want to be happy and safe right now.

I feel very hopeless and helpless... Reply

Simplest and Likeliest Answer There is no God, or there is a blind force that created/started the universe but does not govern it. Reply

Too much suffering I too have concerns and anger towards the Creator of cancer, starvation, earthquakes and the other sundry horrors of the world.

I have already had a very large share of tragedy in my own life. Sometimes I have rage against G-d and I hate Him completely.

Paying for past lives' sins does not make sense, because what made us do our past life's actions- the life before that?

G-d created us fragile, vulnerable, needy and lacking. Then He hits us with so much damage and then we die.

When I look at the beauty of nature I see HaShem's love and compassion. When I look at the pain and suffering of living creatures, I see His own hate and cruelty. If He created us in His image then He too must have a Yetzer Hara.

Whilst I am angry with G-d, I also have an intense love relationship with Him. At least I'm still talking to Him. I guess that's something.

The only sense I've been able to make of G-d is that He is not a refuge IN the world, but a refuge FROM the world. Reply

the holy one's personal name is The causative of the verb "to be" or other words, IS THAT CREATES IS is the personal name of the holy one. One of it's nicknames was "the abode." It is obvious that we live within the holy one, within the law, and within the what matters and energies that comprise the whole wholly one that is omnipresent ONE.

We at birth have the good inclination and the bad inclination (I prefer the un socialized inclination)0. We learn from parents and other elders, then we teach our children when each is appropriate.

Understand as Jewish mystics do, Judaism is an Asiatic religion.

It is more akin in conceptual premises to Taoism than it is to Christianity and Islam. Those religions evolved beyond their Asiatic origins. They became creedal.

We are the agents of change in the house of the lord; we inhabit the one and only abode.

My pa was a religious man and a mathematician; he taught me only one infinity and eternity can exist. Mathematics is torah too. All knowledge is torah. Reply

Thank you Beautifully written as always. Reply

Understand how holy one acts The holy one does act to end suffering. The holy one acts through us if we listen an obey; it is our acts that prevent children from being parentless, our acts that feed the hungry, our acts that stops cruelty, our acts that bring the good into the world. We are the agents for change of the holy one. If there is suffering, it is our neglect of our true work. More people in Germany either worke cruelty on the world or did not resist the cruelty of the others. It would not have happened without human complicity. We are the agents of change commissioned by the holy one. Reply

Resonse to Richard/David God is testing us? "So, why couldn't He have given us a written exam?"

I tend to agree with conclusion No. 1 above--that G-d is not all-powerful, in reality. G-d created the laws of physics and thermodynamics and chemistry and gravity (and free will? okay, it's not a physical law, but it is a law of human nature) and cannot simply violate them at will, but He can make the occasional exception, since He is G-d. That these laws, like free will, even He is compelled to obey makes more sense to my tiny brain and is more compatible with the concept of His goodness. I love my kids, but I can't change fire into ice, or bullets into M&M's, to spare them hurting themselves or from being hurt--they have to learn, no?

David, certainly the Jews of Germany were more German than German, but what about the more orthodox Jews of Poland and Russia, who lived as outcasts from their host societes? Did they need a similar lesson, or was their fate a matter of bad luck and geography? Reply

God means to teach us a lesson for all time Sometimes, the only way to bring an important lesson to our generation and to future generations is by God allowing such an horrific thing to happen. God is the God of history, the present, and the future. Sometimes, if we in our generation are not understanding the ideas that we need to understand properly, instead of teaching the lesson to us in a sweet and pleasant manner, tragedy is the only thing that will bring the lessons home properly. The Holocaust is a classic example. To say simply "We cannot know why..." is to miss the main point. Not that we can no the specifics to every question, but we can know and learn certain general lessons. For one example, the holocaust teaches that there is no ultimate hope in the Jews dwelling in the golus. For Germany was a haven for Jews for many years--the German Jew wanted to more German than the average American Jew wants to be American. They called themselves "Jews of Mosaic persuasion."

God had to teach us via tragedy. Reply

Given human suffering due to evil performed by man, and that due to natural diasters/illnesses it ineed be concluded that God, 1. is not all powerful; 2. does not care or 3. has reasons we cannot understand. Number 3. is the fall-back position but begs the question of why then we think we understand so much else in the bible. Reply

For Richard - That I believe is a superficial interpretation. Surely man taking the case of G-d, even mistakenly, cannot be a cause of anger for our infinitely merciful Creator. Pinchas committed murder in defense of G-d. There must be a more salient reason for such a strong emotion. Plagues were initiated from that Emotion. Clearly in my last response I was not justifying G-d's behavior, I was merely suggesting that suffering initiates a process in which one has to deal and engage in a dialog with G-d to make sense of the event through stages of denial, anger, bargaining and ultimately acceptance. It is important to examine all alternatives and reasons for events otherwise life is meaningless. Just as G-d and His Torah is a standard that everything is measured against, so should our outlook be and not ascribe wrongdoing and lack of justice to G-d. If that is justification, then I suppose G-d can be angry with me Reply

--who do you think..to question me As it says sometimes..you can't handle the truth. In my opinion, I believe we get answers when we are ready. G-d being infinite, is also the most humble to His creations because He wants us to be that way. When you are ready, you will be answered. I've had two life threatening conditions and I am dealing with one now. I argue with G-d everyday, but I realize there are reasons for everything and as I go through things, I do get answers. Maybe not the ones I want, but they make sense. G-d will not provide reasons unless you can handle the reality and luminance of the Truth. There are times I feel at a great distance from G-d but I know this is my Yetzer HaRa (evil inclination). We need to not judge G-d, but if we do, we need to imitate His action. Judge for the best! Reply

To be honest, I'm not crazy about G-d's response to Job's accusation/cry of despair--essentially, "Who the do you think you are to question me, little man? I don't owe you an explanation, because I am G-d and I know things you don't." In other words, as my father used to say whenever I asked him why I had to do something I wasn't happy about, "Because I'm the Daddy." I found that answer to make sense as much as I found it to be cryptic and a little insensitive.

"Trust, but verify." Reply

Anonomys Montreal I understand your bitterness and it is very easy to accept your position. But, consider that we do not and cannot understand what each person must experience in his/her life. We are not infinite and therefore we can't understand. Souls inserted into bodies in the worst of Africa, as an example, may all need this type of life to purge them from misdeeds or impurities from previous lives. It is said that the generation that went into Egypt were reincarnations of the people who built the Tower of Babel. The experience in Egypt was a purification for this. We may not accept this explanation but there is no reason not to. We learn as we study. Incomplete study leads to misunderstanding. You still may stay with your opinion, but know there are alternative reasons that we may or may not be privileged to understand. Your struggle through this understanding is your purification process. I wish you luck in this process. Reply