Free Choice

The staggering horror and magnitude of the destruction in Haiti must move all of us deeply. Israel is one of many nations that have sent rescue teams to save whatever lives can be saved. In times like these, man shows his finest qualities. We pray for all those who suffer to be rescued and healed. My Rabbi and I had a discussion about why HaShem causes or allows events of this magnitude to happen, he inspired me to dig a little deeper into what our faith has to say about such things. There are those, that are tempted to point their fingers at the Haitians and explain to us what sin they committed to bring this tragedy upon themselves. They seek to explain and justify HaShem's ways by putting the blame on the victims of natural or man made disasters.

As we learned this week in the celebration of Tu B' Shevet, we are the vessels by which we can bring blessing into this world, may we rise to the occasion now more than ever beloved.
May emunah, tikvah, shalom and ahavah be upon us, Elizabeth
Below is an excerpt from a teaching of Seth Lutnick

Does Judaism blame the victim as the cause of natural or man made disasters?

On a first reading, one could say yes. After all, didn't the ancient Egyptians suffer greatly as a result of their sin of enslaving the Israelite's? Doesn't Judaism believe in reward and punishment? Is not our faith predicated upon G*d's ultimate fairness? So how else can we explain the suffering of innocents other than by saying they were not so innocent?

A key to understanding this lies in the character of Pharaoh. After each plague, the Bible tells us that G*d "hardened his heart." Question: if G*d hardened his heart, then it was not Pharaoh exercising his own free will. If so, why did he deserve to be punished? After all, he might have chosen to behave better and free the slaves at the beginning of the story! How can he be held responsible for something that was beyond his own free will?

The answer might be that G*d's hardening of Pharaoh's heart is what gave him back his free choice. Think about this. How could Pharaoh have free choice if he sees such miraculous plagues descending upon his land? How could he not immediately let the Israelites go when seeing the entire Nile turn to blood? Realizing that a greater power than he could imagine was destroying his nation should have forced his hand.

And that would not have been free choice. It would have been Divine coercion. When the Bible says G*d hardened Pharaoh's heart, it means that G^d allowed him to keep his free choice despite the overtly miraculous plagues he was witnessing.

In Jewish law, a man can be forced by the court to give his wife a divorce. In the times of the Sanhedrin, it was done by physical force. The man received lashes until he said "I wish to grant the divorce." Now, a divorce must be given by the man with his full free will. How, then, can this divorce be valid? Did he really want to grant the divorce, or did he just want them to stop beating him?

Maimonidies explains the psychology here. In truth, a person's free will leads them to do what is right. Often, however, other influences lead the person astray. When the court gives lashes to this man, they are negating those other influences. This restores the man's free will, and when he claims "I wish to grant the divorce," that is his free will, which desires to do the right thing, speaking.

Now, the story of Pharaoh and Egypt was the exception that shows us the rule. G*d's intervention in Egypt was overt. He actively inflicted the plagues upon the land. Therefore, he had to counteract their psychological effect on Pharaoh in order to restore his free choice. Not so throughout most of the rest of history.

G*d's involvement with the world is in a protective manner. This happens when G*d is present in human affairs, which occurs when humans do not distance Him. G*d tells us in the book of Deuteronomy, that if the people are wayward, He will "Hide my face from them." G*d, as it were, withdraws his protection and allows nature to take its course.

That is what happened with Hurricane Katrina, that is what has happened now in Haiti. It is not the sin of the Haitians! It is all our responsibility! We all have allowed G*d to be distant from our human affairs. When that happens, He withdraws his protection from the forces of nature. Hurricanes happen, earthquakes happen, wars and other natural disasters -- natural, stemming from human nature as well -- happen. When these things happen, the innocent and the guilty are both at risk.

If anything, the message at this tragic moment is for us to once again invite G*d into the world. We do that through prayer, we do that through committing to a higher ethical lifestyle. But most importantly, we do that by imitating G*d! G*d begins the Bible with an act of kindness, making garments for Adam and Eve, and concludes the Bible with an act of kindness, performing burial and last rites for Moses.

When we imitate G*d by performing acts of kindness, He becomes more involved with the world. Divine protection from nature's whim will then be forthcoming. The most urgent act of kindness needed now is to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. That is the Jewish way, that is the human way!