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The Book of Job Is Fundamentally a Refutation of Evil. Perhaps Even

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The Book of Job Is Fundamentally a Refutation of Evil. Perhaps Even Page 4 KEHILATH JESHURUN BULLETIN A HALAKHIC APPROACH TO SUFFERING A ROSH HASHANAH SERMON BY RABBI HASKEL LOOKSTEIN (Based on the Rav - Torah U’Madda Journal, Vol 8, 1998-99) What is the Halakhic approach to with words devoid of understanding?” approach into the halakha of prayer. In tragedy and suffering? The subject is ?.rt hsxhc ,hhv vpht - “Where the morning, we quote a verse from often raised when personal tragedy were you when I created the world?....” Isaiah occurs. But it gains particular ?rec ,huum lhnhnv - “Did you ever gr trucu ouka vaug laj trucu rut rmuh relevance in the suffering in Israel command the morning to arrive?... “I form light and create darkness; I during the past year and the ?vtr, ,unkm hrgau ,un hrga lk ukdbv make peace and create evil.” But the devastating trauma to all Americans in “Have the gates of death been revealed way our sages formulated this in our the past week. to you? Have you seen the portals of morning prayers introduces a subtle change. ,t trucu ouka vaug laj trucu rut rmuh The Book of Job kfv - “God who forms light and creates is fundamentally a refutation of evil. darkness, who makes peace and creates all things.” The word “ra” - What are we to make of this darkness?” evil - was replaced with the word “ha- suffering? Hundreds of Israelis ?vkf ,gsh ot sdv - “Declare if you kol” - all things. In the perspective of randomly killed since last Rosh know it all!” totality, evil vanishes. Hashanah and thousands of Americans This metaphysical approach of Those familiar with Plato’s murdered in the air and on the ground Judaism says that our understanding dialogue, Phaedo, will recall that Plato in two hours a week ago. Does God is limited. If we had God’s quotes an oration delivered by Socrates play a role? Is He responsible for this understanding we would realize that on the day of his execution, saying the evil or, at least, for not preventing it? evil in the form of suffering and same thing. “Death is nothing,” he The question is not new nor can it tragedy does not exist. says, “but the deliverance of man from be adequately answered. But I found an approach that Rav Soloveitchik According to Maimonides, at death, the soul is liberated presented 40 years ago at a symposium on Religion and Mental Health, which and enabled to live a purely spiritual existence. I think can be instructive for us on this very difficult and painful Rosh And, furthermore, if we had the cave, from the valley of shadows. Hashanah. eschatological vision, we would see Death is an ascent to the heights from There are basically two religious, this even more clearly. Says the which many behold the ideas, the true Jewish approaches to the problem of Talmud (Kiddushin 40b), “To what are Being... the real, true, genuine Being.” suffering. The first approach is the righteous compared in this world? The same idea is articulated by metaphysical. It essentially denies evil To a tree standing in a place of purity Maimonides at the conclusion of the entirely. The Book of Job is (vrvy) but whose branches overhang “Guide to the Perplexed.” During life, fundamentally a refutation of evil in into a place of defilement (vtnuy). the soul is, as it were, limited by the the world. What the book says, in Cut off the branches and the tree stands body and bodily needs. At death, the effect, is that if Job really understood entirely in purity. Similarly, God soul is liberated and enabled to live a the world he would come to terms with brings suffering on the righteous in this purely spiritual existence uhzn vbvb evil and he would understand that it world so that they might inherit the vbhfav - basking in the Divine presence. So even death is not evil. Perhaps even death is not evil. Such a metaphysical approach “has worked miracles with our people doesn’t exist. This is clearly expressed future world...” The Rav explains that whose history is a continuous tale of in God’s oration to Job near the this approach is embarrassed by evil martyrdom and suffering,” wrote the conclusion of the book. and so it responds by disposing of it. Rav. The Jewish community found, in vrgxv in cuht ,t wv ighu - “And Human suffering is an illusion. A fuller this metaphysic of evil, relief, hope God answered Job out of the understanding would show that and courage. whirlwind.” suffering, tragedy and evil do not However, such an approach does ?,gs hkc ihkhnc vmg lhajn vz hn - actually exist. not bring solace and comfort to a “Who is this who gives dark counsel Our sages actually codified this human being who finds himself or KEHILATH JESHURUN BULLETIN Page 5 A ROSH HASHANAH SERMON BY RABBI HASKEL LOOKSTEIN (Continued) herself in crisis, facing the monstrosity it is bad. The world in which we live is manner in which our forefather Jacob of evil either in the historical arena of not free from deformities and engaged in combat with the mysterious war and terrorism or in the personal inadequacies. People develop antagonist on a dark night on the other arena of illness.The Rav acknowledges illnesses, suffer accidents, are in the side of the river.” something very interesting: “I can state wrong place, at the wrong time. None udrvk ofav ldrvk tcv - “If with all candor that I personally have of this makes sense, but it is a reality someone comes to kill you, says the not been too successful in my attempts and it is indisputable and it must be Talmud, rise up early in the morning to to spell out this metaphysic in terms meaningful to the distraught individual who floats aimlessly in an all- The pragmatic Halakhic approach encompassing blackness, like a withered leaf on a dark autumnal night, faces evil and suffering squarely, tossed by wind and rain. I tried but in all of its poignancy and absurdity. failed, I think, miserably, like the friends of Job.” faced honestly. kill him first.” Sadly, many And so there is another approach of Second: One must never acquiesce Americans, including our government, Judaism. We might call it the to evil. Scientific intervention to have learned the validity of this policy pragmatic approach of Halakha. This control the environment and disease - indeed, the necessity for such a policy approach is interested in pragmatic and society - yes, and terrorism - is - only in the aftermath of the greatest man, his body and soul, his day-to-day fully endorsed and justified. Suffering tragedy in the history of our country. activities, his small, narrow world, is not good and it should be avoided at We must remember this truism. In the unrelated to metaphysics. The every reasonable cost. fight against Amalek - root evil - pragmatic halakha acknowledges There have been religious views prevention, interdiction and eradication are mandated. They are One must never acquiesce to evil. just as essential as are inoculations against polio and chemotherapy boldly the reality of evil and accepts that did not agree with this. They against cancer. the absurdity of evil. It faces it maintain that if a person gets sick So evil exists and it is bad. Evil squarely and does not try to explain it that’s what God wants and we must be fought persistently and away. shouldn’t fight it. Judaism firmly heroically. But what happens when we The Halakhot of mourning rejected that approach. The same is lose the battle? Here we come to the exemplify this realistic approach. true of poverty. As Tevya said: It is third proposition. When we cannot Death is not the liberation of the not a blessing to be poor; one should triumph over evil, the pragmatic human being to some kind of an ideal avoid it at all cost. The same is true of Halakha instructs us to accept defeat existence. Death is terrible, monstrous, resistence to terror and to persecution. with dignity and humility. The Rav absurd. One tears one’s garments in the The Pope said on Sunday that the stresses the word dignity rather than face of death. One sits on the ground United States should practice restraint equanimity. Mental health for seven days and denies oneself in its response to the monstrous attack professionals advise us to resign bodily comforts in a total expression of mourning and bereavement. If the Suffering is not good and it should be avoided pragmatic Halakha had agreed with the metaphysical approach then why at every reasonable cost. tear clothing? Why sit shiva? Why mourn for thirty days, or for twelve of a week ago and the massive loss of ourselves to an evil that we cannot months? The pragmatic Halakhic life. Another major religious figure defeat, with stoicism and equanimity. approach faces evil and suffering preached that Americans should be The Halakha prescribes dignity. squarely, in all of its poignancy and forgiving. Nonsense! Rubbish! The What is the difference between absurdity. Halakha has never been able to equanimity and dignity? Rav The Halakhic ethic of suffering, accommodate a philosophy of passive Soloveitchik suggests that equanimity asserts the Rav, rests upon three resistance to evil. Rather, we are is a psychological term, while dignity propositions: First, evil does exist, and commanded “to fight evil in the is a religious category. Dignity comes Page 6 KEHILATH JESHURUN BULLETIN A ROSH HASHANAH SERMON BY RABBI HASKEL LOOKSTEIN (Continued) from our relationship with God. We are person to the third person reflects the In the world of carnal pleasures, created b’tzelem E-lokim - in the intimacy and the withdrawal within the Judaism has always considered sexual image of God.
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