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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
The Almighty is Unjustifiable, Part II
By
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
A profound meditation for thinking students of theology addressing a common misconception
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
What do we mean by professing that G-d is good and man was created in His image? When G-d allows and even causes unbearable pain to befall man, afflicting him with sickness, cruel death, earthquakes and the most horrible wars, there seems little room for these claims. If G-d, by our moral standards, cannot be justified for many of His actions, as we have suggested previously, how are we to revere Him?
Is pain, then, completely pointless in man's eyes, his suffering of no value, his perseverance to survive against all odds nothing but an emotional need to see purpose in his life while there really is none? Is G-d the only one who knows the story, refusing to give man any insight? And is this the G-d who is to be emulated by man?
Moreover, what do we make of the biblical claim that man was created in His image? If G-d is the cause of so much evil and pain, does this not pave the road for man to be cruel and evil, as he was created in that very image?
ANSWERS
Jewish tradition has never denied that G-d is the creator of evil. The Bible itself attests to this: "I make peace and create evil" (Isaiah 45:7). The sages never lived in a psychological vacuum denying the realities of life. There was no attempt to cover up all the terrible things that could befall man. They tried only to understand where evil belonged in the scheme of the divine creation.
When Jewish tradition claims that G-d is good, even in the face of all evil, it speaks the Truth. But it can only make that claim from within the system of divine purpose. "G-d is good" does not mean in the moral sense of the word but in the sense that there is ultimate meaning to man's existence, known only to G-d.
With evil abounding all over the world, it is clear that the "moral good of G-d," as generally understood by man, is not the whole story. There must be a reason for all this evil, but it can only be justified in terms of divine meaning, not in moral terms. The unfathomable meaning of all existence becomes clear the moment that evil becomes apparent. It is in the deviation and violation of G-d's own moral standards as expressed in the Torah and felt in the heart of man that it becomes clear that the purpose of the creation of the world requires G-d's "teleological suspension of the ethical." The world was not created for the sake of ethics; it was created for the sake of divine meaning.
… AND MORE QUESTIONS
To argue that evil needs to exist so that man can grow spiritually has no bearing here. We remain with the unanswerable question of why man needs to exist so as to be able to grow. True, the sages stated that man needs to examine his deeds when evil befalls him (Berachos 5a) and that the Holy One blessed be He brings suffering upon the righteous so that they may inherit the World to Come (Kiddushin 40b). But this does not shed any light on why evil needs to exist, since it does not answer the question of why man must exist to examine his deeds or why he must suffer to merit a share in the world to come. All these arguments are a posteriori.
This is not to imply that there is no meaning to man's suffering, or that pain has no function and moral dilemmas no purpose. Throughout history we have seen how much these have contributed to the spiritual and moral greatness of man. It is through these challenges that people of moral stature have emerged and inspired millions. It has certainly been meaningful in human terms. But this is so only because there is an a priori reason for man to exist that surpasses any reason for him to be moral. The latter can never be seen as man's ultimate significance. It is of secondary importance in the overall divine meaning of existence. It is a by-product, albeit a deliberate one that G-d intended.
In fact, it is in the absence of knowing why G-d created the world that man is able to find meaning. To be part of G-d's world and play a crucial role in it without knowing exactly just what role one plays, or why there is even a need for it all is by far the most profound awareness man can ever experience.
A LIFE OF GRANDEUR
What gives life its grandeur is living with the knowledge that one plays a role in some plan that is much greater than one can ever fathom. It is recognizing that the value of human existence is in living with fundamental questions which, like diamonds held up to the light, show the spectrum of colors without ever being able to unite all these colors in a well formulated position. The moment these questions would be answered, the light would dim and the colors refracted in it would lose their splendor.
Every answer is a killer since it destroys the art of searching, the very element that makes life exciting. A world that makes total sense is a world not livable. It is endless human curiosity, which can never be satisfied, that is the drive behind all meaningful life. It is not the knowledge of something that gives us joy. It is the relationship between what is known and what remains an ultimate question — that is what gives man the satisfaction of "being". Lacking this mystique, man can achieve nothing noble. It is G-d's gift to mankind, and for that He is to be revered.
It is this unknowable mystique that mitigates man's pain even when tortured. What raises our indignation against suffering is not the torment itself but its senselessness. What makes the anguish of a suffering child intolerable is the inability to raise it to the level of meaning. As such, it is the most disturbing form of "teleological suspension of the ethical." It is this particular case of a child's suffering, demonstrating the complete absence of divine justice, that proves morality is not at the core of all creation.
For man to truly live life he must live for the sake of G-d. Our love for G-d is tested by the question of whether we seek Him or His gifts. A G-d of only mercy is a G-d unjust. To live for His sake means to feel and sustain the ultimate "wherefore" that cannot be answered. This is what the Kotzker Rebbe meant when he said: G-d, I do not need to know why I suffer, but I want to know whether I suffer for Your sake. "For Your sake we are killed all the time" (Psalms 44:23).
It is possible for G-d to exercise mercy and benevolence only as long as His ultimate meaning for this world's existence is not violated. It is seemingly despite this divine purpose that mercy exists, not because of it. In this sense, mercy is a novelty because its existence may run contrary to G-d's purpose in creating the world. This may be a disturbing observation — it violates our understanding of who we believe G-d is and who we want Him to be — but it cannot be circumvented. It reminds us that G-d is not there for the use or benefit of man, nor does He fall within the parameters of man's understanding. No reason can be given for the nature of G-d because that nature is the foundation of rationality but not rationality itself.
It is in the image of this divine mercy that man was created in G-d's likeness. It is despite G-d's ultimate reason for the creation that man needs to live in His image. Man is asked to undo the amoral effects of G-d's ultimate purpose for His creation, since the need for morality is an integral part of G-d's being but is not His totality. G-d's demand that man live in His image is in partial contradiction to the fundamental purpose of His creating the world. It is only in its a posteriori intention that this demand can be made. Since man has no part in the reasons for this creation, he cannot play a role in its entire fulfillment; he can only do his part, which is to try to be ultimately good, as G-d's likeness. G-d's likeness is only His image, not His divine totality.
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JWR contributor Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo is a world-renowned lecturer and ambassador for Judaism, the Jewish people, the State of Israel and Sephardic Heritage. His latest book is "For the Love of Israel and the Jewish People".
© 2010, Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
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