Suffering

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1. The Drought (part 4)

   Wadi Kerit

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   While God has fulfilled Eliyahu’s decree of drought, God’s choice of words to Eliyahu, the name of the location to which he is sent, and the fact that he is feeds him through ravens - a symbol of cruelty - imply a hidden message. The year-long stay at Nahal Kerit conceals a rebuke aimed at the prophet: Eliyahu’s decision to withhold rain brings suffering upon his people, and he fails to sense their distress. The Divine command therefore forces him to leave them, and live in seclusion, an expression of his lack of involvement in their fate. 

2. The Drought (part 5)

   The Widow in Tzarfat

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu’s move to Tzarfat symbolizes a continuation of the argument between God and Eliyahu that began at Nahal Kerit. The move brings Eliyahu in contact with a poor widow who, together with her son, is about to die of hunger. They are the ones appointed by God to sustain Eliyahu, so that he may be exposed to their misery, and their misery should affect him directly. Perhaps this encounter will teach Eliyahu about the magnitude of the anguish that he has brought upon his people, and will lead him to pray for mercy on their behalf.

3. The Drought (part 6)

   The Widow in Tzarfat (part II)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu chooses a miraculous existence of survival for himself despite the suffering of others, who do not have miracles to sustain them, rather than rescind his decree of drought.

4. The Drought (part 7)

   The Widow in Tzarfat (part III)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The suffering of the widow, expressed in her climatic monologue, and Eliyahu's need to share her food in a way that causes him discomfort, finally lead the prophet to express self doubt in his position, and a wish that God would soon send rain. Nevertheless, he is not yet ready to cancel his vow.

5. The Drought (part 8)

   Eliyahu Revives the Widow of Tzarfat's Son

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu's conditions of survival in the widow's home are not a solution, in the context of the broader story, but rather an obstacle to the flow and progression of the narrative. A crisis will have to occur to interrupt Eliyahu's continued peaceful stay. The death of the widow’s son will lead to Eliyahu's banishment from her house.

6. The Drought (part 10)

   Eliyahu Revives the Widow of Tzarfat's Son (part III)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The preferential conditions that Eliyau has enjoyed for the last year have now expired - and therefore the widow and her son are no longer different from anyone else suffering the effects of the drought. Eliyahu’s decree is the cause - directly or indirectly - of famine and death. Against his will, Eliyahu is becoming party to the suffering of the drought. Eliyahu's call to God testifies that he is not ready to recognize the claim represented by the death of the widow's son as a continuation of God's argument with him. He maintains his regular position, requesting for himself and those around him the right to a preferential existence. His request is therefore not accepted. His initial call to God is not heard, and the widow's son is not revived.

7. The Drought (part 11)

   Eliyahu Revives the Widow of Tzarfat's Son (part IV)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   When his first cry is not answered, Eliyahu turns towards the boy, to stretch out over him; this signifies his change in perception. Two changes are noted in comparing Eliyahu’s two prayers. In the first he questions God, while in the second he pleas to God. In the first, his focus remains on himself and in the second he focuses on the boy. His prayer that the boy's life be restored reveals that Eliyahu is ready to agree to the return of the rain. However, still needs an external command to push him in this direction.

8. Mizmor 3

   A Response to Suffering

   Rabbi Avi Baumol

   There are various ways of dealing with suffering. In Mizmor 3 David uses a three-pronged approach to suffering that was brought upon him by Avshalom’s rebellion. He describes his suffering, he declares his faith in God and he cries out to God for salvation.

9. Mizmor 6

   Rabbi Avi Baumol

   Mizmor 6 opens with the word “God” and addresses Him directly. The Mizmor describes great despair and perhaps depression due to a state of sin. David teaches us to express ourselves and our predicaments to God at our time of need.

10. Not Without Cause Have I Done

    Dr. Tova Ganzel

    The prophet begins by describing the famine that will befall the city; then the wild animals that will pass through the land, followed by the sword, and finally, the pestilence. Describing these imminent afflictions raises the question of whether any righteous people will survive the onslaught.  And if so, might their families  also be saved in their merit, as in similar situations described in the Torah?

    The prophetic response to this question is that if indeed there are any righteous individuals to be found in the city, they alone will be saved. The inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be saved by virtue of the righteous present there. Through the comparison to Noah, the anticipated Destruction seems even more devastating than the Flood. Noah saved his entire family, but now even that possibility does not exist.

    Ultimately, there are some survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem. But they are left alive not by virtue of the righteous individuals, but because of God’s desire that the terrible actions and the resulting punishment of the inhabitants of the city be made known.

11. Human Suffering in Eikha

    Dr. Yael Ziegler

12. The Cry of Sodom

    Rabbi David Silverberg

13. Rashi - Part 6 - Rashi and Christianity (I)

    Dr. Avigail Rock

    The comments and midrashim that Rashi brings not because of any interpretative need, nor because of their educational or moral significance, but rather because of their exigency for his generation, a generation living beneath the shield and the sword of the Christian faith are examined.

    Rashi sometimes strays from the peshat of the verses because of the need to contend with Christian claims against the Jews, out of his desire to strengthen the spirit of his nation.

    There is no doubt that Rashi, in his commentary to Shir Ha-shirim, is responding to the First Crusade. Similarly, in his commentaries to a number of psalms and the Book of Yeshayahu, Rashi relates to the cruelty of the Christians, their claims against the nation of Israel, and the punishment that God is destined to bring upon them.

    Also in the Torah itself, we find anti-Christian trends in Rashi's commentary.