Seeking G-d in Distress
This is in the merit of Israel, its citizens and its holy soldiers.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers should be encouraged to skip them.
We have just concluded the Fast of the Seventh of Tamuz, the date historically when Jerusalem's walls were breached in the siege. Its Haftorah contained the following verse:
"Seek Hashem when He can be found, call upon Him when He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).
Looking around today, at the situation in Israel, it would seem that G-d is quite, far, far away. Things are worse than they have been in a while and it unfortunately looks like things will get much worse before they get any better. Is G-d near?
The Psalmist tells us:
"I am with him in distress" (Psalms 91:15)
G-d is with our brethren, our brothers and sisters, in the Holy Land of Israel. They are in distress and so G-d is with them. And although we have no idea how or why things are happening, we know that G-d is with them. What about us? Is G-d with us? And how should we view these events transpiring in Israel?
One buzzword we hear quite frequently is "Jewish unity." Invoked in the name of countless different causes and organizations, (many of whom are very distant from our national destiny, our goals, hopes, and dreams,) it seems to have lost its meaning. But meaning it still retains!
"[T]he Jewish people may be compared to the man with two heads, concerning whom the question was posed in the house of study: How is he to be viewed for the purposes of inheritance? Does he take two portions like a dual person? Or does he take one portion like a single unified individual? … The answer [is]… Let boiling water be poured on one of his heads… and let us see the reaction of the other head. If the other head cries out in pain, then both heads blend into one complete and unified personality, and the heir will take one portion. However, if the second head does not feel the pangs of the first head, then we have two personalities coupled together in one body, and they take two portions" (Kol Dodi Dofek, by Rav Soloveitchik, translated as Fate and Destiny, pages 47-48). So too the Jewish people, if one Jew is suffering, if others feel his or her pain, then we are unified. If we do not feel our brethrens' suffering, then there is no Jewish unity! (Ibid.)
That is the meaning of Jewish unity! And like it or not, all Jews are unified. Even if we do not feel the pain now, we will eventually. In response to Esther's passivity regarding the decree for the annihilation of the Jews, Mordechai said "Do not imagine in your soul that you will be able to escape in the king's palace any more than the rest of the Jews!" (Esther 4:13). We, in the United States, if we do not feel the Israelis' pain now, will feel it eventually, like it or not.
Once we are together with our sisters and brothers in suffering, then the verse "I am with him in distress" (Psalms 91:15) applies to us too! And once G-d is with us, it is time for us to seek Him out, because He is with us, as the prophet says "Seek Hashem when He can be found, call upon Him when He is near" (Isaiah 55:6)!
Now is the time to do whatever we can. Our obligations fall within two realms, the physical and the spiritual. In the physical realm, we must lobby and write to the news. The Aipac site http://www.aipac.org/action/ will help us here. Within the spiritual realm, we must pray and return to G-d. Whatever steps we take here will be received by G-d. We can recite relevant Psalms such as Psalm 20 (Artscroll Siddur pages 152 in Hebrew or 153 in English) or Psalm 130 (Artscroll Siddur pages 82 in Hebrew or 83 in English) or designate an hour of the day when we will not say anything bad about others, or light Shabbas candles. What exactly we do is up to us.
Let us do whatever we can,
Mordechai
[[Rambam Hilchos Taanis 1:1-4. Ramban on Tefilah]]
[[Nechama Leibowitz on Bamidbar citing Zohar on 264, Rav Soloveitchik in Lonely Man 33 and note, CCC 331-332 and Kol Dodi Dofek (based on Rambam ob cit) then Rav Hirsch cited by Nechama, about Providence in that essay of Nechama, Rav Amital cites Ramban on Iyyov (36:7) (http://vbm-torah.org/archive/values/01b-fear.htm and see note to Rambam) which seems to agree with Rambam.]]
[[Do troubles provoke teshuva or tefilah for Rav Soloveitchik. Talks about Tefilah and moral improvement in Lonely Man in a footnote. Need to look and think]]
[[I don't understand Halakhic Approach to Suffering in Out of the Worldwind.]]
This is in the merit of Israel, its citizens and its holy soldiers.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers should be encouraged to skip them.
We have just concluded the Fast of the Seventh of Tamuz, the date historically when Jerusalem's walls were breached in the siege. Its Haftorah contained the following verse:
"Seek Hashem when He can be found, call upon Him when He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).
Looking around today, at the situation in Israel, it would seem that G-d is quite, far, far away. Things are worse than they have been in a while and it unfortunately looks like things will get much worse before they get any better. Is G-d near?
The Psalmist tells us:
"I am with him in distress" (Psalms 91:15)
G-d is with our brethren, our brothers and sisters, in the Holy Land of Israel. They are in distress and so G-d is with them. And although we have no idea how or why things are happening, we know that G-d is with them. What about us? Is G-d with us? And how should we view these events transpiring in Israel?
One buzzword we hear quite frequently is "Jewish unity." Invoked in the name of countless different causes and organizations, (many of whom are very distant from our national destiny, our goals, hopes, and dreams,) it seems to have lost its meaning. But meaning it still retains!
"[T]he Jewish people may be compared to the man with two heads, concerning whom the question was posed in the house of study: How is he to be viewed for the purposes of inheritance? Does he take two portions like a dual person? Or does he take one portion like a single unified individual? … The answer [is]… Let boiling water be poured on one of his heads… and let us see the reaction of the other head. If the other head cries out in pain, then both heads blend into one complete and unified personality, and the heir will take one portion. However, if the second head does not feel the pangs of the first head, then we have two personalities coupled together in one body, and they take two portions" (Kol Dodi Dofek, by Rav Soloveitchik, translated as Fate and Destiny, pages 47-48). So too the Jewish people, if one Jew is suffering, if others feel his or her pain, then we are unified. If we do not feel our brethrens' suffering, then there is no Jewish unity! (Ibid.)
That is the meaning of Jewish unity! And like it or not, all Jews are unified. Even if we do not feel the pain now, we will eventually. In response to Esther's passivity regarding the decree for the annihilation of the Jews, Mordechai said "Do not imagine in your soul that you will be able to escape in the king's palace any more than the rest of the Jews!" (Esther 4:13). We, in the United States, if we do not feel the Israelis' pain now, will feel it eventually, like it or not.
Once we are together with our sisters and brothers in suffering, then the verse "I am with him in distress" (Psalms 91:15) applies to us too! And once G-d is with us, it is time for us to seek Him out, because He is with us, as the prophet says "Seek Hashem when He can be found, call upon Him when He is near" (Isaiah 55:6)!
Now is the time to do whatever we can. Our obligations fall within two realms, the physical and the spiritual. In the physical realm, we must lobby and write to the news. The Aipac site http://www.aipac.org/action/ will help us here. Within the spiritual realm, we must pray and return to G-d. Whatever steps we take here will be received by G-d. We can recite relevant Psalms such as Psalm 20 (Artscroll Siddur pages 152 in Hebrew or 153 in English) or Psalm 130 (Artscroll Siddur pages 82 in Hebrew or 83 in English) or designate an hour of the day when we will not say anything bad about others, or light Shabbas candles. What exactly we do is up to us.
Let us do whatever we can,
Mordechai
[[Rambam Hilchos Taanis 1:1-4. Ramban on Tefilah]]
[[Nechama Leibowitz on Bamidbar citing Zohar on 264, Rav Soloveitchik in Lonely Man 33 and note, CCC 331-332 and Kol Dodi Dofek (based on Rambam ob cit) then Rav Hirsch cited by Nechama, about Providence in that essay of Nechama, Rav Amital cites Ramban on Iyyov (36:7) (http://vbm-torah.org/archive/values/01b-fear.htm and see note to Rambam) which seems to agree with Rambam.]]
[[Do troubles provoke teshuva or tefilah for Rav Soloveitchik. Talks about Tefilah and moral improvement in Lonely Man in a footnote. Need to look and think]]
[[I don't understand Halakhic Approach to Suffering in Out of the Worldwind.]]
posted by Mordechai18 at 8:27 AM
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