Dear Friends,
From the Rabbi - February 2005
Dear Friends,
As I write this article, the extent of the disaster in Asia in the wake of the tsunami is still beginning to emerge. Over a hundred and thirty thousand souls were wiped out in an instant. I'm sure that the death toll will continue to rise. By the time that this bulletin is printed we will have a better idea of the number of casualties - both due to the tsunami itself and its aftermath.
How can we comprehend such a tragedy? What can we do to help?
I know that many of you have already contributed to the various relief organizations set up to help with rebuilding and healing in those areas affected. If you have not yet done so, addresses for organizations that are helping in the relief effort are posted below.
A natural response to a disaster such as this is to question one's faith. Over the past few days, many people have come to me in deep spiritual crisis asking how God could allow such a thing to happen. There is no answer to such a question. And yet, it is not wrong to ask. How can we view such horror and not question? I do not believe that God willfully causes natural disasters. Our planet is subject to laws of nature which are neither good nor evil. Holiness is found, not in nature, but in our awareness of, and our response to the world in which we live.
One of the remarkable aspects of the tsunami was the fact that the entire world witnessed the tragedy and we were moved to action. And yet, there are other places in the world where disasters are occurring daily, but they are not caught by the cameras of CNN. In Africa, the tragedy of AIDS and its economic and political fallout has destroyed not tens of thousands, but millions of lives - an entire generation has been lost. In the Sudan, ethnic warfare has spawned genocide. We are not immune from tragedy in our own community. Nationwide, drunk driving kills over 17,000 people a year and injures over half a million - over the past decade, more people have died on our highways than in the Asian Tsunami. The toll from poverty, drug abuse, mental illness and disease is staggering.
As Jews, we are commanded to work in partnership with God to repair our world. There is still a great deal of work to be done. Let us use the desire to help that was spawned by this disaster to find other ways to make a difference and, in this way, find holiness in the wake of tragedy.
B'shalom,
Rabbi Joseph R. Black
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