Theodicy Slideshow Final

8/13/2019 Theodicy Slideshow Final

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Why Do Bad ThingsHappen?

In the World? In my Life?

An exploration of Theodicy

with Dan Medwin for Mishpacha at Or Ami


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A vindication of the divine attributes, especially justice

and holiness, in respect to the existence of evil.

- Oxford English Dictionary

Theodicy is a branch of theology that studies how the

existence of a good or benevolent God is reconciled with

the existence of evil.

- Wikipedia

In other words, why would a good God let bad things

happen? Or if bad things happen, how can God be good?

Theodicy (n) thee-ah-duh-see/


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Theodicy asks:What is Gods role when bad things happen?

Some Jewish texts suggest that bad things come from God:

I form light and create darkness, I make peace andcreate woe - I, Adonai, do all these things. - Isaiah 45:7

Good and bad, life and death, poverty and wealth

come from God. -Ben Sira*, 11:14

* An apocryphal book, written at the same time as some of the later books

of the Bible, often quoted in Talmudic and other Rabbinic writings.


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Theodicy

It is a challenging belief that Godcauses badthings to happen.

When we ask this question, however, there arecertain assumptions we make.

By looking at these assumptions, we can gain amore clear idea of the challenges associated withthe question of Gods role in bad things.


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Assumptions of Theodicy

Our first assumption is that bad events occur for a reasonor havea meaningfor happening, and that somehow God played a part.

This leads to the question:

If God knew about this bad thing, and could have prevented it,

why did it happen?

We also assume that God: So we call God:

Knew about the event Omniscient or All-Knowing

Could have prevented it Omnipotent or All-Powerful

Wants good for us Benevolent or All-Good


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Omnipotent

(All-Powerful)

Benevolent(All-Good)

Omniscient(All-Knowing)

If we believe

that God is all

three of these,we question

why God would

let something

bad happen.

One way of

addressing this

question isthrough asking

if perhaps God

is only two of

these three.


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Perhaps God is not omnipotent and has limited power.

This is the approach taken by Rabbis Mordecai Kaplan and Harold Kushner.

This can be understood by comparing God to the human brain and people to

the human body. When we have aches and pains, we know they exist and we

wish they didnt, but we have limited power to stop them.

However, this raises the question: Why pray to a God who is powerless?


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Omnipotent

(All-Powerful)


LimitedPerhaps God doesntknow everything

that is taking place.

This approach likens

God to a superhero.

God has great power

and wishes nothing but

good, but cannot be

everywhere at once.

However, if God is

inside us, how can

God not know what is

happening to us?


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Omnipotent

(All-Powerful)


Not GoodPerhaps God does

not act in our best

interest.

God might let bad

things happen for

reasons we cannot

understand.However, if this is

the case, how can we

trust or rely upon

God?


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Omnipotent

(All-Powerful)



Removing any of

these do notseem particularly

helpful or

desirable.

As Judaism has

grown anddeveloped, more

explanations of

theodicy have

emerged.


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Jewish texts can give us a range of understandings for whybad things happen. Some texts may represent concepts thatare no longer believed, but are presented to show the growth

of Jewish thought. Many texts offer compelling perspectivesthat may help us think about the issue of theodicy.

As you read through these texts, consider the following:

How do these texts explain the reason for bad things? If something bad happens to me or my family,

- What does this say about God, or- How does my understanding of God change?

If any text is too difficult, you are welcome to skip it. There areten texts in total. You do not need to read each one. It isrecommended that you read the texts with an adult partner,

and discuss the texts and the questions as you go.


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When a person is suffering, he should examine his conduct. If, upon

examining it, he finds wrongdoing, let him repent. If, upon, examining his

conduct, he finds no wrongdoing, let him attribute his suffering to his

neglect of the study of Torah. If he discovers that this could not be the

cause of his suffering, let him be certain that his suffering is the chastening*

of Gods love. As it is written,Whom God loves, God chastens*; Just as a father chastens*

the son whom he loves.(Proverbs 3:12)

Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 5a

* Chasten is used here in the sense of a purifying punishment, or a reprimand for the sake of

betterment. Its for your own good.


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The more we believe that God hurts only to heal, the less we can believe

that there is any use in the begging for tenderness.... Suppose that what

you are up against is a surgeon whose intentions are wholly good. The

kinder and more conscientious he is, the more inexorably he will go on

cutting. If he yielded to your entreaties, if he had stopped before theoperation was complete, all the pain up to that point would be useless.

But it is credible that such extremities of torture should be necessary for

us. Well, take your choice. The tortures occur. If they are unnecessary,

then there is no God or a bad one. If there is a good God, then these

tortures are necessary. For no even moderately good Being could possibly

inflict or permit them if they werent. - C. S. Lewis,A Grief ObservedNote: While not actually Jewish, C. S. Lewis eloquently expresses a Jewish view.


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When a disaster befalls us, we have the option to withdraw or

to attempt to transform the experience into a teacher for

ourselves, our friends, our families, and our communities.

Our personal disaster may not only be our gift, it maysometimes be anothers gift as well. It is our obligation to

discover these gifts and give them to others.

Debbie Friedman,composer, liturgist, and performer,

Shattered and Whole inLifecycles, Volume 2

Debbie Friedman has composed many melodies and prayers regularly used

in Reform Jewish services.


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-When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God

did not to take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you

nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed. -Mother Teresa

-Now it is the specific mission of that Jew to free the entrapped holy

sparks from the grip of the forces of evil by means of Torah study and

prayer. Once the holy sparks are released, evil, having lost its life-

giving core, will cease to exist. -Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter of Ger

-If God stopped every human act of evil, we would essentially have no

free will. Furthermore, if God always intervened to help or save us,

humanity would never learn how to do so on our own. -Dan Medwin


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Rabbi Nachman son of Rabbi Hisda said:

God created twoyetzers(two impulses) in humanity:

the impulse to good and the impulse to evil.Talmud, Berachot 61a

How can the [human] impulse for evil be considered very good?

Because the Torah teaches us that were it not for the impulse for

evil, a man would not build a house, take a wife, beget children, or

engage in commerce. All such activities come, as Solomon noted,

from a mans rivalry with his neighbor.Talmud, Genesis Rabbah9:7


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A Midrash (Rabbinic Story) on Cain & Abel (Background: Cain killed his brother, Abel, after God accepted Abels sacrifice over Cains)Then God said to him, Where is Abel, your brother?

He responded, I dont know. Am I my brothers keeper?

Youare the one who watches over all humanity, yet you seek him from my hand?

A parable is told: A thief stole some vessels one night and was not caught. In the morning

the gatekeeper apprehended him, and asked Why did you steal the vessels?

He responded, Im a thief and I have not abandoned my trade. But you, whose trade is to

guard the gate, why did you set your trade aside? And now you ask this of me?!

Thus Cain declared, I killed him. You created in me the capacity for evil. You watch over

all, yet you allowed me to kill him. Youre the one who killed him, you who are called I.

For if you had accepted my sacrifice as you did his, I wouldnt have been jealous of him.

Immediately God replied to him, What have you done? The voice of

your brothers blood cries out. Midrash Tanhuma

Font indicates source: Biblicaland Rabbinic/Midrash


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-According to Maimonides, natural disasters have no explanation other

than that God, by placing us in a physical world, set life within the

parameters of the physical. Planets are formed, tectonic plates shift,

earthquakes occur, and sometimes innocent people die. To wish it wereotherwise is in essence to wish that we were not physical beings at all.

Then we would not know pleasure, desire, achievement, freedom,

virtue, creativity, vulnerability and love. -Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

-Whenever, then, anything in nature seems to us ridiculous, absurd, orevil, it is because we have but a partial knowledge of things and are in

the main ignorant of the order and coherence as a whole, and because

we want everything to be arranged according to the dictates of our own

reason. Baruch Spinoza,A Political Treatise, 2:8, p. 295


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How great are Your deeds, Adonai, Your thoughts are very deep.

The ignorant man does not comprehend them,

nor does the fool understand them.

When the wicked spring up like grass,

and workers of iniquity flourish,

It is that they may be destroyed foreverThe righteous shall flourish like the palm tree,

and grow mighty like a cedar of Lebanon

To declare that Adonai is upright,

my Rock in Whom there is no unrighteousness. Psalm 92:6-8,13,16If it seems like the evil are succeeding, it is only because you are not looking atthe big picture. If a palm tree and grass were planted on the same day, the grass

would appear to be the strongest and fastest growing. However, in the long term,

the grass will die quickly and the palm will last for more than a generation.Harold Kusher, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. p. 13


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A young man, full of energy and curiosity, sets off to explore the

woods around his home. Having a great time playing and climbing

trees, he thanks God for nature and his ability to appreciate it.

Suddenly, the young man falls and breaks his leg. He experiences

great pain and tries to understand why, if he was thanking God and

enjoying Gods creation, would he be punished in such a way. He

struggles to return home, limping the whole way, only to find soldiers

at his door looking to draft young men into the kings army. Becauseof his broken leg, the man avoids having to join the army and fight in

a battle which would surely lead to his death.

from Jewish Folk Tale


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An elderly couple lives in a small shack with a lone cow as their only source of

food and income. Everyday the old man milks the cow, saves some for the couple,

and tries to sell the rest. They barely have enough to live on, but they appreciate

their lives and each other.

One day a beggar comes to the door asking for food. Even though the elderly

couple has so little, they are eager to offer what they can. The beggar is touchedby their kindness and promises that God will reward them.

That evening, unexpectedly, the cow dies. The elderly man and woman are

heartbroken and dont know how they will go on. They cry out to God, How

could you let our only source of food and income die like this? Are we not good

people?

Just then, the beggar returns, only instead of the rags of a beggar, he is wearing ablack cloak. He says to the elderly woman, I must introduce myself again. I am

the Angel of Death and I was instructed to come take your husband. Only, when I

met you, I was so touched by your kindness that I took the cow instead of your

husband. from Jewish Folk Tale


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There are many possible explanations to draw from these texts, such as:

a(aleph): God causes suffering for a purpose,

either as punishment or for our betterment.

;b(bet):God causes pain, or pain is necessary, for an ultimate good.g(gimmel): Challenges in life can be a gift for us and others, if we are able to view

them from a different perspective.

d(dalet): Bad things can come from people and/or can be stopped by people.

h(hay): The evil impulse in people can actually be used for good if we properly

manage it.w(vav): Human acts of evil are ultimately Gods responsibility because God created

us with free will and the capacity for evil.

z(zion): What we perceive as bad is just the reality of the physical world.

We accept certain risks for the benefits of the physical world.

j(chet): Bad things may be a part of a larger picture that we are unable to see orcomprehend.

f (tet): Sometimes an act or occurrence which seems to be bad or a form of

punishment, can actually result in something positive.

y (yod): When something seems bad/wrong, it could have been worse. (i.e. it may be

better than the alternative)


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As we analyze the explanations our tradition has

given us, we might find they tend to fit into three

different categories:

1. Bad Things come from God

2. Bad Things are peoples responsibility

3. Answers are difficult to find

Consider that some explanations may resonate more than others.

Different explanations may be applicable in different situations.

And, in any given situation, one or more may be relevant.


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1.BAD THINGS COME FROM GOD:

As a punishment (for deeds in this life)

It is actually something positive:It is gift to the righteous (to purify, cleanse, remove sin)

We can learn from the pain (like touching a hot stove)

It is a lesson/process that involves pain

(like riding a bike and falling off, or surgery metaphor)

It motivates us to do good (Tikkun Olam - Repairing the World)

God created an imperfect world so we can join in the act of completing

it (Messianic age)

Bad things help us to appreciate the good things.

It is a part of a bigger plan that we dont understand:

It may even be good for us in the end

(mans broken leg -> not drafted into army)

It could have been worse (cow dying instead of husband)


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Sometimes we cause it (not God) Through a capacity for evil and Free Will

Through inaction or apathy

It is our responsibility to try to learn and grow from difficult

experiences.

2.BAD THINGS ARE PEOPLES RESPONSIBILITY

3.ANSWERS ARE DIFFICULT TO FIND

We do not know how to solve the problem of evil,

but we are not exempt from dealing with evils.

- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man

Some say that God tests us and only gives us what we can handle.To this Rabbi Kushner responds: If God is testing us, He must

know by now that many of us fail the test. If He is only giving us

burdens we can bear, I have seen him miscalculate far too often.

- Rabbi Harold S. Kushner,When Bad Things Happen to Good People


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It is interesting to note that the title of Rabbi Harold Kushers

famous book on this issue is not called Why do Bad Things

Happen to Good People, rather When Bad Things Happen to

Good People. Its not about finding answers, per se, as much as

it is about determining responses.

Sometimes the answers we seek and find can help, although

often they cannot be heard by anyone who is in agony or pain.

Furthermore, we can ultimately never prove any of these answers,

and so one of our most powerful responses is simply to be there

for the one another, especially for the ones who suffer. In thisway, we are sure to bring God into the situation, through the acts

of our own hands.

Dan Medwin, 12/2007

Personal Response and Note:


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Why need not be construed as soliciting theoretical or empiricalinformation but may be heard as a terrifying cry of distress.

Why in this instance is equivalent to woe. To this outcry the

proper response in not a scientific or theological explanation but a

compassionate arm around the others shoulders.Harold M. Schulweiss,

Evil and the Morality of God

Crying Out Why?!

Sometimes we dont want or need answers, we just need

someone to be there, to love us, and to listen to us.

This is one of the most important understandings of theodicy.


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Family Activity- Please engage your children in an age-appropriate discussion using the guide below:

1. Consider a difficult situation in your child(ren)s lives oryour family that might be addressed by one of the texts or

explanations.

2. Explain this understanding to your child through a story,metaphor, letter, or example.

i.e. show how an understanding of theodicy can help us to understand or

cope with difficult events.

3. Remind your child that regardless of the explanation, wecannot know the ultimate reason or cause. Therefore, you will

be there for them and you love them no matter what.


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Session 7: Travel Journal

Theodicy - Why bad things happen

Please write up your familys answers to thesequestions and email or give to Sara and Dan

Children questions:

- What did you learn from your parents letter or story?

- Does this help you understand God or bad things differently?

Parent(s) questions:

- What was difficult about this process? (e.g. Writing the letter/story?

Sharing it? Thinking about difficult events in your own life?) Why?

For Everyone:

Brainstorm some people that you know personally who have had

something difficult recently happen in their lives.

- How can your family be there for them in their time of need?

TRAVELJOURNAL

STRUGGLING

WITHGOD
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Theodicy%20make-upmailto:[email protected]?subject=Theodicy%20make-up


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Dan Medwin 2007End

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