Today is day 3 in the hideous unfolding of events which began in Sandy Hook Elementary School in bucolic Newtown, Connecticut. Today we’re learning the names and personal details of the victims. Choked voices tell of a six year old girl whose little sisters looked up to her; of another young child who was passionate about horses; of teachers who died protecting their small students. There are photos of once happy families who will never again be whole. Overwhelmed with horror and grief, we ask ,”Why?” As I write this post, my husband is studying the Torah Portion Yitro with one of his B’nai Mitzvah students. Before the lesson, he had phoned the student’s parents to ask if it was alright to refer to the tragedy in Newtown as it related to the Ten Commandments which are part of the text of Yitro. They said it was ok. I don’t know where that discussion will lead them, but I know where it leads me – Why would a wise, just, merciful, compassionate, loving God who teaches that it’s wrong to murder, allow such an atrocity to occur at Sandy Hook Elementary School? Why, if we’re created in God’s image, would a person slaughter innocent children and their protectors? There is no answer that can possibly comfort and erase the suffering caused by one human intent on unspeakable evil. But the Torah provides a framework for bitter understanding. From the first human experiences described in the Portion, B’reishit, humans are portrayed as seriously flawed. Eve is manipulated by the snake into committing the first act of human disobedience to God’s rule. Cain, the first sibling, slays his brother, Abel. The desire to do evil is an inextricable part of the human condition. We constantly face choices of behavior from the most heroic acts to the most heinous. We’re created in God’s image as partners with God in that we have the potential to be wise, just, merciful, compassionate, and loving. If and how we develop these attributes is under our control. God commands us to act in ways which enhance and sustain our lives and the lives of those with whom we interact. It is our supremely difficult human task, however, to learn, understand, and apply God’s Commandments. Most of us try, falter, and try again in this task. We may even fail in hurtful, but often reparable ways. But there are those among us, like the shooter in Newtown, who are so spiritually maimed that they are capable of causing incomprehensible destruction and inexpressible sorrow. When our individual behavior and societal laws and institutions fail to reflect Divine wisdom, justice, mercy, compassion, and love, we are diminished in our ability to protect ourselves and others from the brutal impulses which are part of the human condition. We’re created with the ability to learn from experience, however painful that experience might be. We’re created to reach out, to comfort, to heal. God doesn’t allow evil to occur. Evil is inherent in humankind. God does give us the capacity to confront evil, to overcome it, to survive, to endure. God does not shield us from evil. Rather, throughout our lives, God directs us toward opportunities to choose good.
- Home From Camp & Back to School - August 6, 2014
- May Their Memory… - July 2, 2014
- Starting Over, Starting Up, Reviewing and Re-thinking….Again! - June 6, 2014