HOME
A Reply to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach about WTC Suffering

 

In an article posted on Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach attacks "two extreme acts of religious arrogance. The first was the catastrophic terror attack against New York…But the second was in some ways even more heinous, as it came from within. Two of this country's most respected religious leaders asserted that the attacks came about because 'G-d had removed his protection from the United States due to the sinfulness of its citizens.'" Isn't this incredible? A person says, with a straight face, that the people who murdered five thousand people are not as terrible as America's leading clergy, because the clergy are the terrorists "inside."

            Boteach continues, "Firstly, the utter conceit of any person, be they cleric or laity, to know the mind of G-d is staggering, especially when G-d Himself tells us that “the hidden things belong to G-d, but the revealed things are for us humans and our children to understand, now and forever.” As one who has studied the Talmud, Cabala and related works for fifty years, I find Boteach's remarks completely erroneous. Boteach twists the passage to prove that all suffering is hidden, even though the passage clearly states "the revealed things are for us." This means, all revealed sin, the evil that we know, is for us to deal with, and to blame suffering on it. Only hidden sin is the realm of G-d.

            See Deuteronomy 32,4:"The Rock (G-d), His work is perfect, because all of His ways are just. He is a G-d of faith and has no evil, He is righteous and upright. (5) Is destruction His fault? No, it is the fault of his sons, a generation twisted and crooked." The book of Deuteronomy and other major prophets are about sin and punishment. We must connect the two or we have no need of the bible. Continuous suffering is supposed to do the job, to finally convince us to repent. See Talmud Baitso 25b. If Shmuley had studied the first volume of the Talmud, which most children know in their teens, he would see in the very beginning, on page 5a, "If someone suffers, let him examine his deeds, as it is said, 'Let us examine our deeds and understand them, and return to G-d.'" Indeed, one who suffers and does not connect suffering to G-d's punishment is "fighting G-d" and sinning in a deeper way than the first sin. Perhaps, however, all of these proofs require too much intellect for a Hollywood "rabbi" like Boteach, so we will make is simpler.

            In Lamentations, Jeremiah mourns the destroyed Temple, Jerusalem and the huge loss of human life and the enslavement of the living. He writes, right there in the beginning, before Shmuley gets bored, I,5:"Her enemies gained control… because G-d tormented her for her many sins. Her children go in captivity before the enemy…Jerusalem has sinned grievously, therefore she is an outcast…From heaven He hurled fire in my bones…the record of the yoke of my sins are in His hand…" Clearly, sin causes suffering, and when we suffer, we pray to G-d for forgiveness, and first, we examine our deeds. This is what the clergy that Boteach attacks clearly attempted to do.

We see how Boteach twists things, when he says that the clergy claim to know "the mind of G-d." Nobody said that they know the mind of G-d. They say that G-d has given a Bible, and it is full of statements and prophecies that clearly state that G-d rewards goodness and punishes evil. It is obvious from dozens and dozens of biblical passages that people are supposed to see suffering as a message from G-d that they should repent. Boteach denies the bible when he talks this way.

            Boteach then goes into a fantastic spin about Judaism, in which he says that Judaism believes in fighting with G-d about human suffering, rather than understanding it! He even invents this by noting that the word ISRAEL means "wrestling with G-d." Anyone who reads the bible knows that Israel means wrestling with an angel, not G-d. Anyone with any biblical knowledge knows that the word ALE in Israel means "angels" or even powerful humans, such as in Psalms 82, "G-d stands in the community of ALE, meaning leaders of society, or judges." Boteach then twists this twister into a new Jewish theology that Jews, when they see suffering, are not to try to understand it—such, according to the mish-mash Jewish theology of Boteach is a sin!—rather, a Jew who sees suffering must attack G-d and complain terribly!

            Boteach continues with his mangling of the truth when he writes, "Furthermore, what magnitude of arrogance do these clerics have to condemn six thousand victims, none of whom they knew, and affirm that they deserved to be punished?" This is a lie. Nobody said that the victims are evil. Religions accepts that when a society sins and punishment is due, it is often the good people who suffer to save the world from worse destruction. The ones who die are often the best of society, not the worst. This is a theme throughout the Talmud and biblical literature.

            More malarkey, in the name of Judaism, "As human beings, it is not our role to concern ourselves with G-d's affairs and offer rationalizations for other people's suffering by saying that it carries an internal, albeit latent good. The moral imperative beholden upon us when witnessing the suffering of another individual is simply to cause it to cease, not to attempt to understand it. The reason that Judaism has traditionally had such weak theodicies is that we have always viewed it as immoral to try and rationalize suffering." Judaism has weak theodicies? What a brutal insult to Judaism. A topic that fills the Talmud, Zohar and thoughts of great thinkers for thousands of years is put down to "weak theodicies"! After Boteach breezes through the "weak theodicies" that he doesn't mention because he most likely doesn't know them, he invents a new one! Boteach even blames his approach on Abraham and Moses. Abraham prayed for the sinners of Sodom. This, says Boteach, proves that Abraham fought with G-d! He would not accept human suffering. He insisted that G-d not kill the sinners. The reading of the text in the bible tells the simple story of Abraham praying for ten righteous people, and when they did not exist, Abraham was silent. He did not fight with G-d about human suffering, although in the Michael Jackson version of the bible, we might find new innovations. When Abraham realized that Sodom was too far gone, he accepted the destruction and did not quarrel.

            Moses is invoked by Boteach, because Moses prayed to G-d to spare the Jews when they sinned. Of course we pray to G-d, and we pray vociferously, to save sinners and allow them to repent. Does this mean that Moses fought with G-d about all human suffering, and that Moses did not seek to understand human pain and death? If so, why did Moses perform the Ten Plagues? Why did Moses pray to G-d to destroy Korach? (Could it be that Korach was a clergyman who explained that G-d punishes the wicked?)

            Boteach concludes, "I would rather stay awake being angry that G-d has allowed this devastation to happen, than to sleep easier believing that those who suffered deserved what they got." Shmuley, do you ever sleep? By the way, nobody said that the dead deserved their fate because of the sins of the society. The sins of society causes Divine anger, and that anger is often directed at good people, who are the sacrifices to save everyone else. Yes, G-d does punish us, some of us in this world, and sinners who have it good in this world will get their punishment in the eternal mode, which is far worse. We come into this world for a test, and if we struggle and maintain our faith, we will be rewarded with Paradise. In the eternal realm, those murdered in the World Trade Center know why G-d killed them, and they are content. They are ready for a pleasure of infinite duration, and the small pain of the mortal body is nothing to it. G-d will answer all of our questions in that world. In this world, we have faith, and when we see a tragedy, we try to better our ways, and find favor with G-d. Those who refuse to do this, and react to tragedy by being angry with G-d, are going to find in the Higher World just what that anger is worth.

            When a family member dies, Jews recite the Kaddish, "May the Name of Heaven be exalted and sanctified, etc." Shmuley would change this to read, "Cut it out, G-d, and I mean right now."

           

# # #