G‑d's Suffering
It's Rosh Hashanah again. The Jewish New Year arrives on Friday night, September 10th. Jews will mark their calendar year with the number 5760 since creation. Families will meet at prayer services and spend time praying to G‑d for a blessed year. At least one family meal will be had with the customary apple dipped in honey symbolizing the hope for a sweet year.
With the holiday spirit comes some serious thinking. Why is there so much suffering? We continue to be puzzled and shocked with the needless shootings and killings at schools, workplaces, and most recently at a Jewish Community Center J.C.C. Innocent adults and children are being hurt by madmen. We think, whatever happened to G‑d? Why is there no G‑dly intervention?
As a believer in G‑d I understand that there is intervention. For instance, in the J.C.C. shooting no children were killed and at the Columbine High School massacre, the toll could have been much higher. As the suffering continues those facts are overlooked. True, there are acts of G‑d like fires and earthquakes for which there is absolutely no understanding, but mans contribution to suffering troubles me.
For answers, I look at traditional Jewish writings. In the Talmud, Megillah 29a, there is a statement Wherever the Jews were exiled, G‑d, Divine Presence, accompanied them. When they will return to the Holy Land, G‑d will return with them. This means that G‑d is with His people. What ever happens to His people affects G‑d.
It would be correct to state that if people suffer, then G‑d, the Divine Presence, suffers.
Now the question should not be why do we suffer, but why should G‑d have to suffer? We experience bad things and G‑d suffers with us. Why?
In G‑d's master plan for humankind there are provisions made for mans accountability. It is like a partnership. Some things we do while G‑d does other things. For example, G‑d creates the world, then man is placed in it and is given the freedom of choice to enhance or destroy it.
Think for a moment, the three basic things we need for existence are water, air and bread. Of the three, two are freely provided by G‑d. Bread is one of the least expensive foods and is readily available. What has humankind done with the two free gifts? I believe not so good. We have poisoned the air and polluted the water. Instead of taking advantage of the pure water and clear air, we have been steadily destroying those vital gifts. What kind of partners are we?
How G‑d must suffer seeing the abuse.
On Rosh Hashanah Jews and non Jews must remember that G‑d created man. People trace their lineage to Adam, the first man. The moment Adam opened his eyes he proclaimed G‑d the King of the Universe. Adam accepted the responsibilities of caretaker of the Earth for G‑d. We, His children, are responsible to care for this Earth. We are to set up courts of justice, prevent cruelty and abuse which are part of the Noachide Laws, the others being the laws of sexual decency, the prohibition of blasphemy and murder.
A story is told of an ancient house of prayer in Europe that possessed an eerie sound. When entering the prayer room, you would hear a continuous sobbing sound. The closer one would walk to the ark, the stronger the sobbing was heard. The old caretaker, shamus, would tell of a story he had heard from the older shamus relating to the phenomenon dating back hundreds of years:
There lived a saintly man, called a tzadik, who prayed and fasted all his life. The saint was as close to an angel as possible. One night while in deep prayer, he heard G‑ds voice calling to him. "My son, tell me what you need and I will grant it."
The saintly man thought and thought. I have clothing to wear, my health is good and I have a place to pray. I don't need money. "Nothing dear G‑d", the saintly man answered.
There was a silence and then a loud sob. Thundering and lightening filled the air. G‑d's voice thundered out. "Why did you think of yourself, you should have thought of me. How I suffer for My people, for mankind, and justice for the poor and needy. Why did you not think of my suffering? Why did you not ask that my suffering cease?"
The saintly man realized his sin and was too troubled to speak. From that day on he grew weaker and weaker. On his death bed he told his most trusted students his tragic story. From that day on, when entering the prayer room you could hear the sobbing, as if the prayer room was crying of G‑d's suffering at the lost opportunity.
So, this New Year by all means enjoy yourself and family, dip some apple in honey, pray for a good year and most of all pray for an end of suffering: your suffering, my suffering and, most of all, G‑d's suffering.