Not too long ago I was taking a walk with my Bashert downtown, looking at the unacceptably immodest clothing the shiksas are wearing these days and the narishkeit available behind the counter at the drug store. I realized that I hadn't bentched Kiddush Levanah yet for the month, but it was a cloudy night. Not to be defeated by the Yatzer Harah (chass veshalaom), I decided to go above the clouds, up to the top of the Twin Towers.
While up there, the Aimishteh rewarded me by suggesting I have a schnapps and a coffee at Windows on the World (though He insisted that my wife only have the ice water).
Now that the mitzvah of Kiddush Levanah on a cloudy day can only by achieved by having your talmidim pool their money together to lease a plane, one cannot but contemplate the unfathomable: How can such a thing happen?
Some initial thoughts: If Oisama Ben Ladin and the Muslim people were so angry at the American government, he should have done what the Jewish people do: According to the RAN you should commit tax fraud. But the RIFF disagrees and holds that you should open a nursing home and abuse the elderly.
But setting aside issues of motivation, a true Jew searches for meaning. What does it mean that thousands of people died for no reason? What existential message can one take away from such an occurrence? And accordingly, how is one supposed to respond to such a message? Historically, the Jewish people have found different approaches to dealing with the many tragedies that have befallen our people.
In this century, a key response to Jewish tragedy has been fundraising. Unofficial slogan of the ADL: Rampant anti-Semitism is a horrible thing; a little anti-Semitism is good for business. Unofficial slogan of the Simon Wiesenthal Center: Prevent a tragedy -- WRITE A CHECK; Prevent two tragedies -- WRITE TWO CHECKS; Prevent three or more tragedies -- CALL US AND WE' LL WORK OUT A PAYMENT PLAN.
In 1648, the Jewish People interpreted the Chremilnicki Massacres in Poland as Chevlei Mashiach -- the birth pangs of the moshiach. Of course the only moshiach that resulted was Shabtai Tzvi -- and we know how that went. After being declared moshiach on 1666 he and many followers converted to Islam in 1667 and were forced to pay retail for the rest of their lives.
Sephardic Jewry responded to the expulsion from Spain in 1492 by using Kabbalah to re-interpret the nature of the relationship between the Reboinoisheloilum and his Chosen. (However, I believe they were punished for excessive eating of rice and beans on Pesach -- If we have to suffer through eight days of Matzo Brei, so should they.)
So how are we to understand this tragedy? Some random thoughts.
First of all, if I or any other Rabbi knew definitively, we would be making money on the stock market and wouldn't have to declare every single one of our respective apartments as shuls in order to get the tax benefit.
Second, you will recall that the Shaygitz Jerry Falwell suggested that it was the Aimishteh's punishment for homosexuality. What a putz. What narishkeit. Everyone knows that Aimishteh's punishment for homosexuality is that they have to walk around with their bris milah's smelling like tuchus. This can be quite embarassing in the mikvah on Yom Kippur morning.
Perhaps the true answer is that it is beyond our understanding. Maybe Hakkodoshboruchhu is looking down at us right now and saying, "Give it up, you minuvals! My world, my rules. You don't like it, go create your own world, you mishugaim" Perhaps it is arrogant to think that human beings are intended to have all the answers. On the contrary, maybe asking the questions is the more important step.
Consequently, if you think you have all the answers, your teeth should rot and your bris milah should be as soft as an overcooked flanken. If your Rabbi tells you he has the definitive answers to existential questions, he probably inhaled too many bsomim on moitzi shabbos, if you know what I mean. A true ben-Torah knows that while it is okay to SUGGEST answers, the real goal is to broaden the world of thought and intellectual possibility. Anything more is competing with Hakkodoshboruchhu and you are likely to have a swarm of bees adopt your kishkas as their Bais Hamikdash. Uchinvei.
