Sunday, September 04, 2005

Theodicy: It's Our Problem

No decent person can fail to be appalled by the various attempts to blame hurricate Katrina on its victims. At the same time, we must acknowledge that this line of thinking is a direct outcome of the concept of a just God, which we Jews are so proud have introduced to the world.

Thankfully, several thousand years of religious civilization did yield at least a few people who noticed that life isn't always fair. The first known sustained attempt to grapple with this problem from within the monotheistic tradition appears, of course, in the book of Job. To be strictly accurate, Job actually offers two approaches to the problem: one in the folktale framework of the book, and one in the poetic portion. The folktale offers what may seem like a throwback to the idea of an amoral deity, who treats his creations callously for the sake of his own ego. The poem, on the other hand, depicts a Supreme Being Whose nature and actions are so far beyond human understanding that, while they may ultimately be just in some cosmic sense, we can never hope to reckon with them. Rabbinic theology later introduced the concept of an afterlife that would even all scores, and the idea of "afflictions of love" imposed upon the good in this world, to lessen their suffering in the next. These ideas were developed by many thinkers throughout the centuries, yielding varied results. Yet one common thread runs through all of them, namely, an acknowledgement that the notion of a just deity giving each of us what we deserve within our lifetimes simply does not accord with observed reality.

There have always been those among us who have attempted to correlate particular "punishments" with particular "sins," and in so doing, they were not out of keeping with Jewish tradition. Yet they were also not fully in keeping with that tradition, and it is the responsibility of those of us who identify as religious Jews to emphasize that point. This sort of reasoning cannot be tolerated -- particularly since there are so many alternatives.

Ba' al HaRahamim - God of Compassion:
Mikolot mayim rabim - Above the voice of vast waters;
Mishberei yam - The breakers of the sea;
Adir bamarom Adonai -Awesome is Adonai our God.
In the path of Katrina's destruction, let the good in humanity rise to the top of the flood.
Give us strength to console those who have lost family, friends and neighbors.
Give us the courage to provide hope to those who despair.
Provide us with the guidance to heal those who ail, both in body and in spirit.
~ excerpt from A Prayer for Guidance and Understanding by Richard S. Moline and Rabbi Elyse R. Winick


Donate, if you haven't already, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here.

8 comments:

Dovid said...

Excellent post! I agree with you 100%. I guess that if something negative befalls you, ch"v, the right thing to do would be to find something which can use work, and to perfect yourself with t'shuva. But to blame another's suffering on his/her sins is nothing short of sinful.
There Rebbe Rasha"b, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe said that man was given a left eye to examine himself; look for your own shortcomings critically. Your right eye on the other hand is for others. Always judge them favorably. And if you see them suffering think how you can help them instead of placing blame!

(BTW, did you learn the tanya?)

Anonymous said...

Well said, Elf.

elf said...

There Rebbe Rasha"b, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe said that man was given a left eye to examine himself; look for your own shortcomings critically. Your right eye on the other hand is for others. Always judge them favorably. And if you see them suffering think how you can help them instead of placing blame!

I've heard that. It's a very nice thought.

BTW, did you learn the tanya?

I'm working on it. DH has gotten a bit farther than I have.

Well said, Elf.

Thank you.

elf's DH said...

And another Tanya-based post is long overdue. (I still haven't gotten very far in that grand scheme of things)

Dovid said...

:) I hope you're liking it...

Anonymous said...

Brava. Well-said. Thank you for this. I've been completely appalled by the posts I've read in the last week which suggest that New Orleans "deserved" this because of its iniquity. BAH. That theology is offensive to me not just as a human but as a Jew.

elf's DH said...

anonymous... figures. I wouldn't admit to having written that either.

elf said...

I didn't have the words to respond to two recent comments on this thread, so I took the cheap route out and deleted them. In the future, please be aware that if you are a complete shithead, your comment may be deleted.

Thank you.
~The Management