It’s one of the greatest questions a person can ask – if there’s a God, and God is
good, why is there suffering in the world? Most people find themselves asking this question
at some point in their lives - and there can be no doubt - life can sometimes get really dark.
What I want to do is to suggest some Jewish approaches for how we can begin to understand
this difficult question. Some approaches may only be applicable to certain situations,
some may speak to you and some may not, but hopefully they can provide some perspective
on dealing with this difficult question.
The first approach can be best explained with
a story. There’s a little baby toddler that has been given a big bouncy ball for his birthday.
This ball is everything to him – he’s playing with it every day. One day, his mother accidentally
leaves the front door open, and this little boy pushes the ball out of the front door
and into the road – he chases after the ball and as he begins to approach the road
his mother notices what is going on and she grabs her son before he gets to the road.
As the mother grabs her son the ball gets run over by a car – splat. What is the boy
thinking right now – my Mum has betrayed me! That ball was everything to him - it was his obsession – and now
it’s gone – “and my mum – the person who is meant to look after me – has taken
away the most important object in my life!” But of course we know this couldn’t be
further from the truth. The mother has just saved the boy's life. You see the gap in understanding between
the mother and the boy is huge. The boy simply isn’t able to understand why the mother did this
– and the mother is prepared to risk her son being angry at her, if it’s going to
save his life. And if that is the gap in understanding between a child and an adult – how much
more so is the gap in understanding between finite human beings and an infinite God. We
have a finite, limited perspective – we cannot always understand the bigger picture
the way our Father in Heaven can.
Approach number two can be summarised by a rabbinical
saying documented in the Talmud – 'lefoom tzara agra' – 'according to the effort is
the reward'. There can be no doubt that in life growth only occurs through challenge
and difficulty. We don’t grow when we are in our comfort zone. If you want to build
muscle, you have to put your body through physical exertion. And if you want to build a
relationship, you have to put in the effort. And when people go through difficult challenges
in life – be it health issues, financial troubles or bereavement – one thing is for
sure – they become people of substance. Challenges force us to confront our biggest
defects and decide whether we want to build our moral character. This is not something
God can give to us – it is something only we can do ourselves. Suffering also creates
a vulnerability in relationships with ourselves, others and with God that can often provide
a channel to bring them to newfound heights. Suffering makes us vulnerable, and vulnerability
helps us realise we need others – and so we connect with one another, we give to one
another and we grow.
The third approach is to recognise a simple
truth – life is temporary. No matter how painful suffering can become, one thing is
guaranteed – it all ends at some point – we are finite – we all die. The question then
is – is this life all there is? If this life is all we have then I would be much more
troubled by the idea that God is a loving Being. But if this world is merely a temporary
journey that takes us to an infinite end – a place where we enjoy the fruits of the growth
we have achieved in this temporary world – then that changes everything. The most compelling
source of hope for human beings going through suffering is the saying attributed to King Solomon – 'this
too shall pass'. If this temporary world will transition to a place of true peace and ultimate
justice – then one can handle almost anything.
Finally, number four – the truth is - we are far better off being troubled by the question
of suffering. For if we had an explanation, then we would make peace with suffering, and
that misses the whole point. Imagine you are in a hospital and you hear a woman screaming
with pain. Outside her room, her family is standing around chatting and smiling and
happy. You scream at them, "What's wrong with you? Can't you hear how much pain she is in?"
They answer, "This is the delivery ward. She is having a baby. Of course we are happy." You see -
when you have an explanation of pain, it suddenly doesn't seem so bad anymore. But as long as the pain
of innocents remains a burning question, we are bothered by its existence, and moved
to do something about it. We are not expected to, or meant to understand suffering in this
world ultimately. We cannot have all the answers, but we can choose how to respond. You know in most religions
the question of suffering is typically asked by the heretics. But in Judaism, our leaders
ask the question. Abraham was chosen by God instead of Noah because Abraham challenged
God when he said he would destroy Sodom, whereas Noach accepted the world’s predicament that
there would be a flood without putting up much of a fight. Noah accepted, Abraham protested.
Our leaders are praised for asking the question “Why God?! Why?!” For as long as we cannot
explain pain, we are responsible to do our best to alleviate it. And by asking the question,
we are forced to look for answers, and ultimately become a force for good.