G‑d’s Volcanic Whisper
My teacher at the Jewish parochial school I attended taught us a very important lesson: Whatever happens in the world contains a message from God. There are no random happenings; everything follows a plan. As Albert Einstein wrote, “God does not play dice with the universe.”

Physicist Stephen Hawking, however, suggests that maybe God rolled the dice at the moment of creation, but after that everything has an order.
There are many man-made programs that try to control world events. They range from Earth Day to Green Day. Programs are global with people turning off their lights for an hour. People empower society to show appreciation for Earth’s environment.

Then there are days when governments get together and designate a day for making agreements.

Just recently four dozen nations signed a nonbinding agreement to secure nuclear arms. This is in keeping with President Obama’s nuclear-free vision. Russian President Dimitri Medvedev and President Obama signed a separate new arms reduction pact.

Whether it’s presidents, prime ministers, world leaders or world groups, they all have one thing in common — their secular view of the world. In all the agreements and day celebrations there is no acknowledgment of God’s presence. Man thinks that by drawing a consensus they can control the universe.

What options are there for God to bring religious consciousness to world leadership? In his wisdom, God sends wake-up calls — earthquakes and volcanoes that stop the flow of society’s order and control. God seems to be saying, I have given you opportunities to make the world a better place and you have not done so. You have polluted the air and water, taken advantage of the poor and needy, and built nuclear weapons. You think that you can control and fix the world, making it a safer and kinder place to live by making special days and agreements.

So God sends us a volcano eruption as a reminder that he, indeed, is in control of the universe.

Since the catastrophe of 9-11 there has not been such a disruption of air travel as the volcano eruption in Iceland. Millions of people have had their lives disrupted. Billions of dollars have been lost and global warming and greenhouse effects have to be recalibrated. As the Yiddish philosopher said, “Man plans and God laughs.” Fortunately, no lives were lost but people had to learn that they are not in control.

One of the lessons we can learn from this catastrophic event is that when signing agreements or designating special days we must bring God into the equation.

Since the volcanic eruption great countries and their citizens have relearned kindness and sharing. Acts of compassion for those stranded are being experienced daily. This makes God very happy.

God controls mother nature. So if we truly want to have a peaceful Earth day we need feelings of godly recognition.

Maybe we ought to have a God’s Day, which will accentuate the supreme being, cutting across all lines of organized religion and government.