Judaism why do people suffer

The first exile from Jerusalem and destruction of the first Temple occurred around BCE when the leadership of the community were led off to Babylon. The Iraqi Jewish community thus considers itself the first diaspora community and until the 20th century maintained a significant Jewish presence. The second Temple was destroyed by the Romans around 70CE and diaspora communities slowly became the norm, although communities remained in the land of Israel.

With the destruction of the second Temple, Rabbinic Judaism really came into its own, transforming Jewish custom, festivals and theology to adapt to a world without sacrifices and the focal point of Temple worship. This process continues to the present day, with Jewish texts and learning exploring what Judaism can mean in the world and the communities Jews find themselves living in, while drawing on the ancient wisdom of all that has come before.

It was during the Roman rule of Judea that Jewish communities began to take root in Europe, though the Italian Jewish community is thought to have begun in the city of Rome around BCE. The Italian Jewish community considers itself to be the oldest in Europe. Jewish customs, foods, liturgical music and cultures reflect the many places Jews have lived and made homes, whether in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa or more recently the Americas and Australasia.

Unique communities can also be found in China, India, Ethiopia, Uganda and many other places around the world. While diversity from place to place was common throughout Jewish history, in the 19th century Europe also saw the emergence of various Jewish denominations or movements, which responded to the Enlightenment and the emancipation offered by the Napoleonic Empire.

Reform Judaism emerged as an attempt to allow Jews to live both as modern citizens and as modern Jews, Chasidism emerged as an offering of spirituality that was accessible to all, while Orthodoxy attempted to protect Jewish life and resist a slide into assimilation. And just last week, it was called Against Anger. And what I said is that feeling anger is inevitable and sometimes important.

Acting out of anger is the trap. No single person can reverse the tide, but they can add their voice, they can give aid and comfort to people who are doing good things, because even as that is happening, we also know that there are doctors and other healthcare workers and scientists who are working around the clock and helping them and giving them support.

My synagogue is distributing food to people who need it most, as are many other synagogues and churches. We can find out which charities are the most effective and give to them. We can man soup kitchens. We can express our solidarity with people who are suffering. On the side of my synagogue, we put up a very simple banner. I at least am hearing you. You talk a lot about giving into despair as a kind of sin, but I want to challenge you on one point because I think it illuminates an important point.

I have a problem with that variety of faith for exactly that reason. I remember once having a debate years ago, with Sadhguru, who is a well-known Indian guru, who came to my congregation. A wonderful man in many ways. A really interesting person. And that means if your life is miserable now, you deserve it because in a past life, you lived a certain way.

I think that our task in this world, and I would say our God-given task, is to do everything we can to make the world as good and as fair as we can, but also to accept ultimately that there are limitations, not only to what we can do, but to what we can understand. The brain was created by evolution, just like the eye and the ear. My faith is not about letting God do stuff that I can do. And believing that I can live in such a way as to fulfill the purpose for which I was sent to this world.

I know that very well. Move forward. Let me give you a different image of prayer. This is from a 17th-century rabbi named Leona Medina. I see prayer as motivating me to do things that God wishes me to do. When we lose something — a loved one, a memory, a relationship — people try to fix it for us. And this situation is no different.

And I worry that the righteous anger on one side and the denial on the other side is blocking the way to that solution.

And by the way, to forgive one another. There is an almost righteous vengeance against people who at any time in their life said something wrong or did something wrong, but that also blocks our ability to communicate across lines.

Because without forgiveness, there is no reconciliation. And without the recognition that all human beings are going to do bad things or say something that was wrong or unintended or hasty or even cruel, you have to be able to listen and forgive. I know that societies can do it, though. I think there are two big things. If you really believe that all human beings are created in the image of God, then every person is precious in that way.

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